Many of you will have recently received letters through your doors - Notification of Planning Application in relation to Park Farm. It seems as if the moment has come once again to urge you all to rejoin the fight for fair play and honourable decisions for the future of Thornbury with some direct action of your own.
There are little glimmers of what might be construed as hope from the direction of the Independent Planner, relating to the soundness and legality of the Core Strategy that South Glos have produced. (See last Posting.) We have two deadlines fast approaching that need your input if our Town and District Council are going to be convinced that people in Thornbury are serious about objecting to the development at Park Farm. What we need once again is a significant mass of documented public opinion from you supporters out there.
1. Thornbury Town Council will on Tuesday 21st June consider the Planning Application by Barratt Homes to build 500 houses at Park Farm. It is not within their power to grant or withhold that planning permission, only to make a recommendation on behalf of Thornbury Town as to how they would like South Glos Council to proceed. Judging by their past record it is unlikely that TTC will withdraw their support per se for the planning application. However, we believe there may be very good grounds for TTC recommending NOT to accept the planning application at this particular time of asking. Please write to TTC before this deadline to urge the Council to recommend to SGC a refusal of planning permission at this juncture. The following reasons should support your letter:
- This may be standard practice for developers such as Barratt Homes to put forward Planning Applications regardless of whether the Core Strategy has been finalised and signed off by South Glos and the Independent Inspector. However it would be incredibly premature of both Town and District Councils to approve this application. There are legitimate doubts as to the soundness and legality of the Core Strategy. The Independent Inspector has already indicated the need for a preliminary Exploratory Meeting, which is unusual in itself, and the agenda he has drawn up would suggest that Thornbury issues may be uppermost in his thoughts. Why are Barratts attempting to ride roughshod over this due legal process, and force the council's hand? Probably because they are a business concern, and care first and foremost about their own pockets/profitability. Council should not be influenced by such matters or be seen to be in the developer's pocket. It is the developers who should be showing our legal process more respect. Patrick Conroy (Head of Spatial Planning at SGC) wrote to Barratt's as early as last year urging more restraint when Barratts threatened to submit planning applications even before the ink on the DRAFT Core Strategy was dry! Thornbury should not be hurried. As so many residents and other stakeholders have raised concerns over the soundness of the Core Strategy in relation to Thornbury, we urge both councils to withhold approval and allow decisions to date to be tested before recommending any planning application.
- The recent local TTC elections were unprecedented in terms of the message NorthWest Thornbury has been sending the Town Council. At his last full Council Meeting as Mayor, the previous incumbent, Mr Chris Clifford, when challenged over TTC's Core Strategy statement, said "Let the ballot box decide". And it did just that by removing from office two ex-mayors, who between them had a vast quantity of years of service to the town - not as a slight on past services, but simply because they had stopped listening to and representing the deeply unhappy voices of local residents. Residents in NWThornbury have been saying for a long time that this is not about "My Back Yard" but about undue process, lack of supporting evidence, meaningless consultation. Thornbury is the only area of South Gloucestershire to have had a site selected for development and a sustainability appraisal conducted AFTER selection - which alone raises issues of soundness. Councillors would do well not to ignore legitimate concerns. We are urging all of Thornbury's Councillors to show that they have listened to concerns and are prepared to defer recommending an application, at least until after the Independent Inspector has taken a view.
- Send your letters to: Thornbury Town Council, c/o The Town Clerk, The Town Hall, Thornbury, BS35 2AR, or e-mail directly to: j.payne@thornburytowncouncil.gov.uk before Tuesday 21st June - that gives you 8 days from this posting! If you DON'T live in NWThornbury, you may wish to copy in your own Town Councillor to encourage him/her to get the message, too.
I am only too happy to register opposition and have written to TCC as follows -
ReplyDeleteI write to object to the Planning Application with regard to Park Farm, Thornbury.
I understand it is normal practice for developers such as Barratt Homes to put forward Planning Applications regardless of whether the Core Strategy has been finalised and signed off by South Gloucestershire and the Independent Inspector. However I believe it would it would be premature of both Town and District Councils to recommend this application. There are widely held doubts as to the soundness and legality of the Core Strategy. The Independent Inspector has already indicated the need for a preliminary Exploratory Meeting, which is unusual in itself, and the agenda he has drawn up would suggest that Thornbury issues may be in his thoughts. As many residents and other stake holders have raised concerns about the soundness of the Core Strategy with regard to Thornbury, I believe that both councils should demonstrate a willingness to allow decisions to date to be tested before recommending any planning application.
Thornbury is the only area of South Gloucestershire to have had a site selected for development and a sustainability appraisal conducted after selection. In all other areas of South Gloucestershire, sustainability appraisals preceded and informed site selections. This alone raises questions around soundness.
I ask that Thornbury Town Council recommend that the application is refused at this time. In the absence of such a recommendation, Thornbury town councillors would be seen to be ignoring legitimate concerns and run the risk of being seen to be willing to damage due process. Thornbury Town Council is widely viewed as having mishandled their part in consultation in the process to date. It now has an opportunity to show it has listened to concerns and is prepared to defer recommending an application at least until the independent inspector has taken a view. That action alone would demonstrate fairness and go a long way toward restoring confidence.
It may be that, in the fullness of time, the application is shown to be in the best interests of the town. If that happens, councillors may rightly be expected to recommend an application be accepted and, whilst I doubt that can be shown, I would then not object to such action at that time. However, hundreds of local residents and stake holders believe that the Planning Inspector should have the opportunity to examine the process to date and make his own recommendations before councillors make their decisions.
Yours truly,
Anthony Domaille