At our recent General Meeting, residents had the opportunity to put their most pressing questions to our local councillors.
CAB site development
We asked for an update on the derelict site, which has been in a poor state for over nine years, and whether we would finally see a proposal.
Councillors Riley and Smallwood delivered “hot off the press” news, stating that a planning application is expected to be submitted by the end of October. The current proposal is understood to be for 6 townhouses on the adjoining car park, while the former CAB site itself would then be converted into a car park.
When asked about the hut currently in the car park, they said that they assumed it would have to be removed to make way for the houses – and gave an assurance that they would work to ensure the community groups that use it (like the Ward Panel) are found alternative accommodation.
The Hut, which would presumably be removed to make way for the new houses
On the subject of resident objections and the planning process, there were questions from the floor about if residents would have an opportunity to raise objections. The answer was yes, but the councillors stressed that any objections must be made “on planning grounds, not on emotion.”
Valid planning grounds mentioned include the fact the site is in a conservation area (so developments must be in keeping with the surroundings). The councillors clarified that they do not get to make the final decision; this is done by the council’s Planning Committee, on which none of them sit. Residents were advised to “keep an eye out” for the application on the council’s website from the end of October.
It is now November
Our public meeting was on 30 September, the plans were supposed to be published at the end of October, and today is 12th November. There have been no plans published.
To anyone who has read the history of delay on the derelict site, the council missing their own target date may not come as much of a surprise.
Cllr Riley’s Member’s Enquiry
To get to the bottom of the situation once and for all, at our 6th November Committee meeting, Cllr Riley kindly agreed to submit a Member’s Enquiry on our behalf. We await the council’s response, and look forward to making some progress.
Behind the wooden hoardings, the land remains derelict and overgrown
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