Meeting documents

Gerry Curran - Executive Member for Environment and Sustainability

1 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced those present.

2 EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURE

The Democratic Services Officer drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure as set out on the Agenda.

3 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUSTITUTIONS

Councillors Steve Willcox and Peter Edwards gave their apologies for the meeting.

4 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were none.

5 TO ANNOUNCE ANY URGENT BUSINESS AGREED BY THE CHAIR

There were no items of urgent business.

6 ITEMS FROM THE PUBLIC OR COUNCILLORS - TO RECEIVE DEPUTATIONS, STATEMENTS, PETITIONS OR QUESTIONS RELATING TO THE BUSINESS OF THIS MEETING

The Chair informed the meeting that several letters and emails from members of the public and ward councillors had been received, which had been circulated to the Panel Members.

7 CALL-IN OF DECISION RELATING TO BATH & NORTH EAST SOMERSET LOCAL PLAN INSPECTOR'S REPORT: HAYESFIELD SCHOOL PLAYING FIELD/ST MARTIN'S GARDEN PRIMARY SCHOOL, ODD DOWN

Councillor Gerry Curran introduced Peter Rowntree, customer services director, who informed the meeting of the processes involved in the Local Plan so far and assured the Panel that there would be further consultation on the Plan after the Council meeting. Vaughan Thompson, strategic manager, planning services, then gave a brief presentation to the meeting about the stages of consultation which had taken place since 1999 ( a copy of the presentation is lodged with Democratic Services). He informed the meeting that the original Inspector's report of May 2006 was incorrect and that the addendum had been added in July 2006 and communicated to key stakeholders. The Executive agreed the modification to the Plan including the Inspector's recommendation for the site to have mixed use development including retail. The Council will make the final decision on the modifications to the Local Plan in October, these would be advertised in November, followed by a 6 weeks statutory consultation period. Then between January and March 2007, the Council would consider the results of consultation and whether further modifications are necessary. The plan would then be processed through the adoption process.

Panel Questions

Panel - With regard to the NLP retail study - how many other stakeholders were engaged in consultation?

Planning Officer - The study was a technical analysis. It was made available to the public, but did not include a consultation process during preparation.

Panel - Who was consulted about the addendum in the July report?

Planning Officer - St Martin's Garden School was informed of the addendum but there was no opportunity in the statutory process to conduct a full public consultation at that time.

Panel - What kind of development are we talking about?

Gerry Curran - We are not here to discuss the specifics of the site, just the possible uses.

Councillor Roger Symonds

Cllr. Symonds presented a statement citing the 10 reasons why he decided to call-in this decision. (A copy of these is lodged with Democratic Services). He said that local communities should feel part of the planning process and that local needs should be met locally. He commented that the aims of the Community Strategy and the Corporate Improvement Strategies should feed into the decisions for the future of the area.

Cllr. Symonds was also concerned about the late notification to St Martin's Garden School of the change to the Local Plan, no consultation had been undertaken with local residents and that the Green Spaces Strategy was not yet in place. He urged the Panel to refer the decision back to the Executive and uphold the call-in.

Panel Questions

Panel Which area do you define as the city centre?

Cllr. Symonds - Within the Lower Bristol Road and the A4.

Gerry Curran - The city centre management group ( of which I am a member) has set a boundary for its purposes, however there is no `official' boundary.

Panel - What would you see as good practice when engaging with the community?

Cllr. Symonds - There should be involvement and engagement before decisions are made. More use could be made of the Local Area Committee.

Panel - What is the current status of the Green Spaces Strategy?

Cllr. Symonds - there has been patchy consultation.

Planning Officer - The strategy is currently in draft stage and will be presented to the Council in November.

Panel - How much has St Martin's school been involved in the consultation prior to this?

Planning Officer - The Inspector consulted with them in January 2005, but at that point there was no direct impact on their school.

Cllr Symonds - This is why we need the Green Spaces Strategy so we can be robust about planning decisions instead of being inconsistent.

Panel - Can you elaborate on your remarks about Tesco's and Peasdown St John?

Cllr Symonds - I am concerned that if a large supermarket is built on the site, it will attract customers from a large area south of Bath.

Councillor Steve Hedges

If this decision went through it would change lives without consultation. Were the Panel aware that Lidl's had bought the Herman Miller site on the Lower Bristol Road? There is no retail strategy in the Council at the moment, so we can't make considered decisions.

Panel Questions

Panel - Were you aware of the retail study?

Cllr Hedges - No

Panel - As ward councillor, when did you know about this issue with St Martin's?

Cllr Hedges I was informed at the same time as the school

Councillor Colin Darracott

I was first aware of this issue when I received the papers for the Executive meeting. We are about to commission a retail strategy for the city and wish to look for more sustainable ways of providing food availability other than supermarkets. I am alarmed that this site seems to be already allocated but it would premature and wrong to allow a supermarket on this site. This is why I voted against it at the Executive meeting.

Panel Questions

Panel - Were you aware of the Lidl development on the Lower Bristol Road?

Cllr Darracott - Yes. The Western Riverside Project Board are negotiating with regard to supermarket provision within that development - many supermarket chains desperately want to come to Bath.

Panel - Should we be concerned that another retail study is being suggested only 2 years after the last one?

Cllr Darracott - The difference is that we wish to commission a retail strategy, not another study. This should be a matter of urgency for the Council.

Panel - Do we need to commission our own study?

Cllr Darracott - We have enough facts but we need help in deciding our strategy and the philosophy behind it.

Panel - Did the Executive have access to any more information apart from the NLP study?

Cllr Darracott - The Executive realised that more work had to be done on the retail side with regard to the Bath suburbs and in the rest of the authority.

Philip Pope - headteacher of St Martin's Garden Primary School

Mr Pope read from his statement, a copy of which is lodged with Democratic Services.

There were no questions from the Panel.

Erica Draisey - headteacher of Hayesfield Technology College

Hayesfield School needs capital investment, especially for its sports facilities. We are unlikely to obtain funding in the near future as sports funding now tends to go towards coaching capital projects. We recognise that it is never easy to sell playing fields - we have consulted with local schools, councillors and residents about our plans. We would wish the development to benefit St Martin's Garden and the local community.

Panel Questions

Panel - What is the deliverability measure to which you refer in your submission?

Ms Draisey - It details the geology, aspect and general nature of the site and its ability to deliver a new development in a time-specific framework. The government has specified that the Building Schools for the Future Pathfinder funding would only be allocated to projects that could be completed within 3 years.

Panel - How long has the playing field been out of use?

Ms Draisey - 3 years. There were too many problems with the transport costs, lack of changing facilities and poor security.

Helen Woodley - Allotments Association

We are pleased to hear of the call-in. We feel that existing open spaces should not be built on unless they are surplus to requirements. Local people must be allowed to out forward alternative proposals. There should be genuine consultation in a proper forum to consider options for the land.

There were no Panel questions

Andrew Vinall - Odd Down resident and parent of child at St Martin's Garden

Mr Vinall read from his written submission, a copy of which is lodged with Democratic Services.

Panel Questions

Panel - Do you feel that there are sufficient shopping facilities in the area?

Mr Vinall - There are adequate facilities in Odd Down and Sainsbury's is not far away.

Scott Morrison - Friends of the Earth

If the supermarket goes ahead, we'd like to see an assessment of the impact, particularly with regard to greenhouse gas emissions. I understand that there is a Vision for Bath being developed - uniqueness and individuality are wanted. There would be more traffic chaos if the supermarket was built at Odd Down.

Panel Questions

Panel - The Friends of the Earth Have been involved in the Local Plan consultation over the years - were you aware of the change with regard to St Martin's Garden?

Mr Morrison - we heard of the possibility of change about a year ago.

Susan Le Page - governor , Hayesfield School

Mrs Le Page read from her written submission, a copy of which is lodged with Democratic Services.

Panel Questions

Panel - Does Hayesfield no longer require the playing field at St Martin's Garden?

Mrs Le Page - We need to sell the site in order to improve our sports facilities in our present location. We are not expecting to be funded by any supermarket .

Panel - Why are you not pursuing other funding channels to pay for your new gym?

Mrs Le Page - As we have technology status and not sports status, it is very difficult to obtain funding - we have tried many avenues.

Panel ( to planning officer) - What percentage of the overall site would be allocated to retail use?

Planning Officer - The Inspector's recommendation to develop the site is subject to the findings of the Green Spaces Strategy which will inform the site open space provision. There will be issues around the school's requirements and the limitation on the floor space of the supermarket. Division of the uses will be part of any future master-planning and at this time an absolute figure cannot be given.

Panel - Why has the school site area been changed?

Education Officer - The school has a far larger site than it needs according to DfES guidelines, so if it was rebuilt, the site size would be reduced.

Panel - Do the recommendations include genuine mixed use i.e. including business premises?

Cllr Curran - The foodstore development is one of the options recommended by the Inspector.

Planning Officer - there is no fixed percentage of different uses that have to be achieved in order to define it as `mixed use'. Existing uses and the potential retail use will form the mix, together with other uses which will meet local need.

Hugh McKay - Chairman, Sulis Meadows Neighbourhood Watch

I represent 250 households in the Sulis Meadow estate. The residents are not opposed to the playing field being sold off for affordable housing - if this happened, the children from those houses could walk to school easily. The proposal for mixed development and a possible superstore is opposed by them - it would add much more traffic to an already busy crossroads. The real cost would be the effect on local shops and we are concerned that local plans would be over-ridden by an out-of-town inspector. We support the call-in.

There were no Panel questions

Louise Bray - resident of Wellow

I feel that there shouldn't be a supermarket on the site as it will aggravate the congestion already experienced in that area. The other real issue is the effect on local independent retailers.

There were no Panel questions

Frank Langstreth - Parent of child at Hayesfield School

Hayesfield School has an urgent need for new PE facilities and this playing field is too far away from the school to be practical. We have exhausted all other sources of finance and so either we dispose of the field or we have to continue with the present sub-standard facilities. The sale of the playing field is part of a mixed development site which includes a planned open space which will benefit the rest of the community.

There were no Panel questions

Robert James - Odd Down resident

I am concerned about the increased traffic congestion and that the local shops will go out of business. This is being proposed with no solid evidence from local retail and traffic impact studies. The Council has the option to postpone the adoption of the Local Plan until these kind of studies have been conducted.

There were no Panel questions

Sarah Rosie - parent of child at St Martin's Garden School

I feel it is important to create sustainable communities. The school has had funding for the Margaret Coates Unit and the Sure Start unit, but more money is needed to make it into a true community facility. This area of Bath is often neglected and the roads are already at saturation point. The children of this area and their future should be the Council's priority.

This concluded the submissions from the public speakers. The Chair then invited Councillor Gerry Curran to sum up for the Executive.

Councillor Gerry Curran - The question that the Panel needs to answer is: has the Executive gone through the right process in responding to the Local Plan Inspector's report? There will be further consultation after the meeting of full Council and the Council could overturn the report if it wished. I urge the Panel to allow the Executive's decision to go through the democratic process.

The Chair then invited Councillor Roger Symonds to sum up on behalf of the call-in signatories.

Councillor Roger Symonds - I would draw the Panel's attention to the 10 points I made in my submission. I feel there is no room for mixed development on this site. If the school size is reduced, where will the children from the proposed new local housing developments go to school - this could be seen as very short-sighted.

Decision

The Panel then adjourned into private session for 45 minutes to consider their decision.

Following the adjournment, the Panel re-convened in public and the Chair asked each Panel Member to summarise their decision (with reasons) whether to uphold or dismiss the call-in.

It was then confirmed and resolved by the Chair on behalf of the Panel TO UPHOLD the call-in by a majority of 4 votes to 2.

The matter would therefore be referred back to the Executive for further consideration.

The Panel stated their reasons as follows:

The Chair thanked everyone for their contributions and declared the meeting closed.