Agenda item

Councillor Eleanor Jackson made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 2 and can be seen on the Council’s website] in which she appealed to Cabinet to defer consideration of the TRO until after planning permission for the whole scheme had been determined, when it would be known whether the road would be needed.

Amanda Leon (Radstock Action Group) made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 3 and can be seen on the Council’s website] in which she urged the Cabinet not to adopt the proposals but to consider more carefully the impact they would have on the town of Radstock.

Gary Dando (Radstock Action Group) made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 4 and can be seen on the Council’s website] in which he explained his disagreement with the Council’s response to the consultation objections; and pointed out that adopting the order would be premature because the land assembly had not yet been completed and planning permission had not yet been gained.  He presented a petition to Cabinet expressing opposition to the proposals to divert a road through the centre of Radstock.

The Chair referred the petition to Councillor Roger Symonds, for his response in due course.

John Sprateley made a statement as an HGV driver.  He felt that the proposals would oblige HGV drivers to mount the pavement to navigate the small roundabout, risking injury to pedestrians and causing damage to pavements and tyres.

Deborah Porter made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 5 and can be seen on the Council’s website] observing that the report submitted to Cabinet had not given due weight to the comments made during the consultation relating to social inclusion, safety and sustainability.  She further observed that the data analysis provided for consultation was out of date and that more recent data, from 2009, had not been properly considered.  Finally, she felt that there were no net benefits of the scheme and appealed to Cabinet not to adopt the traffic order.

Heather Chipperfield made a statement in which she said that there was massive local opposition to the scheme; she asked why local businesses had not been consulted; and asked the Cabinet to listen to the views of the people of Radstock.

George Bailey made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 6 and can be seen on the Council’s website] in which he referred to section 5 of the report.  He felt strongly that local business would be negatively affected; congestion would be badly increased; air pollution qwould not be reduced; and vehicle vibration would cause damage to buildings and cellars.

Other members of the public made ad hoc statements, appealing to Cabinet in every case not to adopt the proposals.

Councillor Roger Symonds, introducing the item, said that the Cabinet was committed to the regeneration of Radstock.  He said however that his proposal to Cabinet would not be the recommendations from the report, but that he was moving that Cabinet should defer consideration of the order until a future date.

Councillor Cherry Beath seconded the proposal and thanked the members of the community who had taken the trouble to speak to the Cabinet.

Councillor Tim Ball also thanked the speaker for engaging with Cabinet on this issue.  He observed that the regeneration had been mooted for over 11 years but had not been moved forward.  He felt however that the traffic order proposals needed to be looked at in further detail, particularly since the planning application had not yet been resolved.

Rationale

The Cabinet wishes to take further opportunities to listen to representations from the community and to consider the available survey data. Deferral will not prejudice the intention to regenerate Radstock.

Other Options Considered

A number of alternative options were evaluated as part of the planning process, which will all be taken fully into account when the item returns to Cabinet.

On a motion from Councillor Roger Symonds, seconded by Councillor Tim Ball, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To DEFER consideration of the Traffic Regulation Orders until a future date