Agenda item
QUESTIONS, STATEMENTS, PETITIONS AND DEPUTATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC
The Democratic Services Manager will announce any submissions received under the arrangements set out in note 5 above. The Council will be invited to decide what action it wishes to take, if any, on the matters raised in these submissions. As the questions received and the answers given will be circulated in written form there is no requirement for them to be read out at the meeting. The questions and answers will be published with the draft minutes.
Minutes:
The following statements were made at this item;
Amanda Leon from Radstock Action Group made a statement regarding the Cabinet deferral of the decision on the TROs for Radstock – a copy of which is held on the Minute book and published on the Council’s website with the draft minutes of the meeting. In response to a question from Councillor Eleanor Jackson regarding how the TROs relate to the planning application, Amanda responded that it was unclear. The slippage in the planning application has meant that the highway works were extracted from the full application which came with the 106 agreements and so the TROs should fall as they are outside of what was agreed.
John Spratley made a statement regarding the proposed diversion of the A362 in Radstock and the effect it would have on Radstock. He spoke as a long-standing resident and lorry driver and set out reasons for his opinion that the scheme would have a negative impact on local businesses and lead to job losses. He also queried where the money for Norton Radstock Regeneration scheme had gone over the last 11 years. In response to a question from Eleanor Jackson regarding the relationship between the TROs and the 2009 traffic data which may or may not have been analysed, John said that it was ‘not understandable’.
The following statements were made at item 8;
Jill Britten from Whitchurch Village made a statement in support of preserving the green belt at Whitchurch and setting out reasons why the area was inappropriate for development; – a copy of which is held on the Minute book and published on the Council’s website with the draft minutes of the meeting.
Jo Tinworth from Newton St Loe Parish Council made a statement seeking to protect the unique setting of Bath, prioritise housing development on brownfield sites, make more use of empty properties and protect the green belt for food production; – a copy of which is held on the Minute book and published on the Council’s website with the draft minutes of the meeting.
Gwen Edwards made a statement regarding the Core Strategy. She queried the forecasting for additional housing and whether it was accurate with the impact of the global economic situation on housing need. She also stressed the importance of keeping Keynsham distinct from Bristol, and pointed out that there was not the appropriate infrastructure to support large development at Hicks Gate.
Martin Farrell made a statement regarding the Hicks Gate part of the Core Strategy raising issues regarding the ridge development, the impact of the A4 and the large volume of traffic it carried, and querying the how the ‘principle of the green belt gap’ could be maintained if housing was built there.
Roger Busby made a statement against including a housing contingency within the Core Strategy and set out his reasons to support this view; - a copy of which is held on the Minute book and published on the Council’s website with the draft minutes of the meeting
The following statement was made at item 12;
Terry Reakes had registered to make a statement regarding the proposed changes to the Standards regime which was read on his behalf by Councillor Eleanor Jackson; – a copy of which is held on the Minute book and published on the Council’s website with the draft minutes of the meeting.