WHAT THE COUNCIL HAVEN'T TOLD YOU ....

Having read and published all of the representations submitted concerning the Core Strategy, the South Glos planners have now amended and revised the Core Strategy, and submitted a Final Version to be approved by SG Councillors.
Bear in mind that of approximately 1200 submissions for the whole of South Gloucestershire, a good half of them are responding to Thornbury development plans. Thus 620 respondents made 739 representations, 713 objecting to the current Park Farm proposals, with a meagre 26 representations supportive (including would-be developers, Barratts.)
We've been eagerly waiting to find out what planners have made of this weight and volume of objections...... and now we know, but only because some sharp eyes happened upon the agenda and attached documents of the Planning And Develpment Control Committee which is meeting this coming Wednesday 8th December at 10am at Nibley Court, Yate. (you may attend this meeting if you wish, and even speak your opinions for 5 mins)
http://council.southglos.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=151&MId=4903&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
Why does South Glos Council do this? Why the lack of transparency? Is it because they are ashamed of the shocking job the planners have done in revising the Core Strategy, and would rather keep it from public attention until it is too late?

The big news is that the "Thornbury" section of the CS has been completely rewritten. This is no surprise, because the original version was so flawed that it could not possibly have been allowed to stand. The shock is that planners have deliberately ignored the criticisms of their original conclusions. In a stand of breath-taking arrogance, they have decided that the responses of 610 anxious local residents are not worthy of their consideration. Because this has only ever been about meeting the objectives of the plannning department, not genuine consultation, the planners have introduced new criteria, that local people were never party to at the time of consultation, and of course it is recommending that the Park Farm development should proceed as they always intended.

You may wish to read the re-draft for yourself by clicking on this link and going to PDF pages 45-64
Most of this is devoted to generic reasons for supporting more housing in Thornbury- the old chestnuts of promoting town vibrancy, and falling primary school rolls feature strongly, but with new primacy given to Castle School aspirations to consolidate onto a single site (which it is claimed can only happen with a Park Farm development - not true, however). A new link road giving access onto Park Road has been slipped into proposals. And further Morton Way developments have been declared unsustainable on the basis of this road forming " a highly defensible boundary" to future development (despite pre-constructed underpass, and being the favoured site by a majority of local residents surveyed by Town Councillors in 2009.) Is this because we cannot trust planners to defend our Green Heritage for us? Not sure what Welbeck Strategic Land will make of such a subjective dismissal of all their recent efforts at Public Consultation?
These are worrying times, but it is still not too late to halt the South Glos planners.

We urge you to read the documents for yourself. Check our webiste over the next few days for links to important letters and documents related to current developments.
Please lobby your councillors who must vote on Mon 13th December whether to accept the Core Strategy as it stands. Urge them to throw out the section relating to Thornbury. The people of Thornbury have spoken - It's time for the rest of South Gloucestershire to sit up and affirm the real voice of localism that was delivered on 6th August via the Core Strategy Representations.