Issue 6 July update: 28.6.11
“Save Our Wyke” Conservation Group
Save Our Wyke Update: July 2011
Firstly I would like to thank all of the people who voted for me in the Local Election on May 5th electing me as a District Councillor for the Wyke ward. I have since, been very busy with the Induction process and with frequent meetings as I am a member of the Development Control Committee and the Planning Policy Panel. I would also like to congratulate Belinda Ridout, “Save Our Wyke’s” Vice Chairman who now joins me on the Town Council. I have just started to use “Twitter” to keep people up to date with all goings on at both Town and District level and especially the status of the proposed Business Park development, which is still a very serious threat to the green fields of Wyke. You can follow me on “Twitter” at “cllrdavidwalsh”.
It is partly due to the elections but mainly to the new Localism Bill that there has not been any mention of New Development Plans for areas including North Dorset. Councils are waiting for the Bill to become an Act so that they can adopt it into their “New Plan”. I am sure that a lot of you are aware that the RSS (Regional Spatial Strategy) which determined how much development was required in each area has now been scrapped. Whereas before, the government stated that North Dorset had to build 7,000 houses, this is no longer the case but North Dorset District Council Planning has decided to build 5,100 houses, 2,300 of which are still proposed for Gillingham as was previously planned. To comply with the government policy on sustainability and to cut down on commuting there will be a need for employment growth to coincide with housing development. One of “Save Our Wyke’s” main arguments is that a new business park is not warranted as there is still a lot of room for expansion and development of the Brickfield Business Park and Station Rd. and that Gillingham is still not attracting the high skill science based industries/businesses that were once envisaged.
I have recently been to a meeting of the Planning Policy Panel in which Trevor Warrick, the Planning Policy Manager presented reports. During this meeting members were invited to comment on suggestions set out in the Planning Policy Manager’s report setting out ways in which local communities could be engaged on changes to the planning system as a result of Localism. It covered 3 main areas for engagement, one of which was:
· The revision of the draft Core Strategy; “The New Plan”
I was very vocal during this time, as mentioned in this document was Gillingham and the proposed developments in Core Policy 16 published in April 2010’s “New Plan for North Dorset” which, as you are only too well aware includes at 2.8.40 the proposal to site a 10 Hectare (25 acre) Business Park at Wyke.
Later in the summer there will be consultations held with the Town Council, Town Plan Steering Group and Town Design Statement Steering Group looking at the proposed expansion of Gillingham and all subsequent development and the results of these consultations will then go forward into a revised “New Plan”.
There will not be any major amendments to the Plan with regards the urban expansion of Gillingham or the proposed contentious Wyke development which is still being discussed and has not been removed. Even though, as I stated at the meeting; “With the proposed expansion of Brickfields Business Park given the go ahead there was surely no necessity for
a separate Business Park at Wyke?”
In the revision of this document there will be certain changes that I insisted upon, one of which was to remove the vague blobs on maps which caused such confusion to us all, and I have now been told that these will be substituted for precise OS coordinates showing the public exactly where proposed developments will be.
There is to be another public consultation later this year on the revised “New Plan”. I argued this point saying that we have already had a consultation when the council assured members of the public that their views would be listened to. I stated that if the council put out the exact same plan to consultation without any amendments it would only show that the council had not in fact listened at all to the views given in the thousands of Comments Forms and letters written by concerned members of the public in response to the first plan.
I asked whether comments in response to the first consultation would carry through to this next one; I was told “No, only comments made at the second consultation would be looked at with regards to the revised ‘New Plan’”. I argued, “That this would be seen by the public that the Council had not delivered on its statement:
“that it welcomed comments”, “that they would be listened to” and “that they would be used to help shape the future growth of the District”.
I am very pleased to say that in response to this a new report on the previous consultation process has been issued, which states;
“Officers are in the process of preparing a detailed report on the responses to consultation on the draft Core Strategy, which will include a general overview of the main points raised and a more detailed analysis of comments policy by policy. Since the draft Core Strategy was prepared to be in general conformity with the emerging “RSS”, the responses will give members a very clear understanding of the local community’s views on accommodating this level of growth. This work is currently in hand and it is hoped to bring the report to a future Planning Policy Panel”.
I will keep you all updated as and when this happens and as I find out more information.
What I cannot emphasize enough is that when the next public consultation happens, later this year, we must mobilise ourselves very quickly in response to it as there must be even more letters and comments forms sent from concerned members of the public, otherwise it could be perceived by North Dorset District Council that there is less objection to the proposal than before.
So please when the time comes, tell everyone you know how important it is for them to speak out, spread the word, attend the Public Consultations at the Town Hall and respond to it in writing.
Minutes and agendas for all North Dorset District Council meetings can be found at www.dorsetforyou
