SHIPTON INQUIRY RESUMES

The Public Inquiry into proposals to build 175 houses on land between Little Horwood Road and Shipton resumed in Aylesbury on Tuesday. Llew took time out from the local election campaign to attend the opening session and formally deliver the submission that  he’d prepared on behalf of the  Town Council which is opposed to the development.   The Inquiry is expected to conclude this evening (Wednesday) and the Inspector will then study the mountains of evidence which have been submitted and deliver his decsion sometime during the Summer.

Let down again by local Tory Councillors

The petition against car parking charges organised by local resident Ruth Ash generated over 2,000 signatures so Aylesbury Vale District Council were obliged by their own rules to debate the issue last week.   Ruth was allowed 5 minutes to speak in support of the petition and did a great job.  It was then the turn of the members of AVDC and our two local Tory Councillors, Duncan Wigley and Lindsay Rowlands had preference to speak first. The only problem was they weren’t there!  A special debate about Winslow and neither of our District Councillors turned up !  It was left to a Liberal Democrat Councillor from Aylesbury to lead the support for our campaign to keep parking in Winslow free of charge.

Apart from having the debate about parking charges in Winslow this meeting included the annual budget setting which fixes our Council Tax for the next year.  So, not only were we not represented in the debate but there was no input from Winslow about our Council Tax.  Hopefully Winslow residents will remember this when they go to the ballot box in May!

Shipton enquiry delayed again.

The Public Enquiry into Gladman Developments proposal to build 175 houses on land between Little Horwood Road and Shipton hamlet will not now resume until 3rd May. The enquiry should have concluded this week but  a decision was awaited in a case which could have an impact nationally.  Although the judgement was given on 9th February the legal teams for Gladman and AVDC need time to consider its impact and prepare their case.  It appears that the case in question may go to the Court of Appeal so there could be a further delay in our enquiry beyond May3rd.

How should our town grow?

Here’s your chance to have your say about future housing development in Winslow.

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The Coalition Government is changing the method of planning for future growth so that communities get to have a far greater say in the level of new housing development.  Because of this Aylesbury Vale District Council is just starting to create a new long term development plan for the next twenty years which will reflect what local communities like Winslow say is reasonable.  If we assume that there will be approriate improvements to infrastructure (roads, schools, local employment. leisure and health facilities) what do YOU think would be acceptable?  Please complete my survey in the right hand panel of this page and if you want to give more detail write to me at llewmonger@btinternet.com .

SHIPTON PLANNING ENQUIRY ADJOURNED UNTIL FEBRUARY

 After just one and a half days the planning enquiry into proposals to develop 175 houses off Little Horwood Road has been adjourned.   The Inquiry has been adjourned to await the outcome of legal action being taken by a national housebuilder, Cala Homes, against the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government regarding the approach to be taken nationally to the interpretation of regional planning policies.  This case relates to another part of the country but the judgement will have national significance. The outcome of this action is expected in mid January and the Shipton enquiry is scheduled to reconvene on 14th February next year.

The Inspector was able to hear evidence from two expert witnesses called on behalf of Gladman Developments as the areas on which they were commenting are not covered by the legal action.  Gladman called a landscape expert who presented his views on the suitability of the site and an urban design expert who discussed the possible layout of the site. Two of the key issues for the enquiry are the suitability of the site and the question of whether Little Horwood Road forms a clear boundary to the eastern edge of Winslow such that any development beyond this would be development in the open countryside.

I have  submitted a statement to the Enquiry on behalf of the Town Council and will get to speak to this when we resume on 14th February. You can see this statement at Submission by Winslow Town Council to Shipton Enquiry

 

 

Roadworks, roadworks, roadworks. What’s going on?

You can’t have failed to notice that there are quite a lot of roadworks going on in Winslow at present.  All of the work is ‘off-site highways improvements’ related to the Banner Homes development off Verney Road.  As part of the planning consent for the development Banner are obliged to pay for these works which are designed to compensate for the extra traffic which will be generated from the development. They are not allowed to sell any houses until the works are completed and paid for.

The main works are in Verney Road, Vicarage Road and Burleys Road with some additional work in the High Street and on Buckingham Road. New parking bays in Verney Road and Burleys Road and a traffic island where Burleys, Verney and Vicarage Roads meet are part of the plan as well as a slight widening of Vicarage Road and two pedestrian refuges at crossing points.  On Buckingham Road there will be a Vehicle Activated Sign to remind drivers of the 30mph limit and some re-alignment of the road markings to give the impression of the road being narrower which apparently slows down traffic. Let’s hope it does.  The parking protection ‘build-outs’ on the High Street are likely to be the most contentious parts of the work.  The highways engineers believe that these works together with new white-lining will slow and improve traffic flow on the High Street. It will also make it much safer to be on the pavement outside the Co-oP and the butchers.  If the Co-oP delivery vehicles go to the rear of the store which they could, and should, then the scheme should be to everyone’s benefit. 

The work will stop on 6th December and start again on 10th January and is expected to be finished sometime in March. Only when all of the work is completed will we be able to judge how successful it is so let’s be patient and hope that the highways engineers have got it right.

Developers offer £3million community benefits package

The planning enquiry into the proposed development of 175 dwellings between Little Horwood Road and Shipton will start at 10.00am on 7th December at, The Oculus, The Gateway, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury, HP19 8FF. The previous application for this site was refused and the Town Council and AVDC continue to oppose the proposals despite some amendments by the developer.

Before the enquiry concludes the Planning Inspector must receive details of what conditions AVDC would apply and what community benefits the applicant would provide IF he were to grant permission. We understand that Gladman Developments are proposing a package which has an estimated value of around £3,000.000 and includes the following.

£1.2 million subsidy for a new half hourly bus service to Milton Keynes

£1 million (est) contribution for Secondary Education (This goes to the County Council – not Winslow)

£100k contribution to the Primary Care Trust for improvements to Winslow’s health centre and Norden House surgery

£500k towards a new Community Centre (This would add to the £600+k that the Banner Homes development will deliver)

£100k for traffic calming in Elmfields Gate, Magpie Way and at Shipton hamlet. (subject to a residents survey)

£100k in contributions for Library and Adult Education provision (again this would go to Bucks County Council – not Winslow)There would also be a play area and youth shelter on the development, and a contribution to future on-site landscape maintenance.

This is an attractive package of potential benefits for the town and would go some way to off-set the impact of the development if permission is given. However, residents have made it clear that they do not wish to see more major development and in any event this is not a suitable site. Little Horwood Road forms a clear boundary to the East of Winslow and we are concerned that if permission were granted here then we could be faced with more applications for development right up to the railway line.

gladman-site.jpgThe Town Council have over £600,000 to come in ‘off-site leisure contribution’ from Banner Homes in respect of the Verney Road Development and this, together with a possible £500,000 if the Shipton development were given permission would cover the basic cost of a new, purpose built community centre.  With a potential 20% increase in the size of the town there is no doubt that a new purpose built facility would be a real benefit to the community.  However, even if the offer was for twice as much it still wouldn’t; change the basic planning issue and that is that development beyond Little Horwood road would constitute ‘development in  the open countryside’.

If the Planning Inspector decides to approve the application we will have to ensure that all of the proposed community benefits are actually delivered.

GLADMAN DEFEATED AGAIN! Planning appeal for 200 houses rejected.

The Planning Inspector has rejected an appeal by Gladman Developments against the earlier refusal by AVDC to grant consent for the building of 200 homes on land between Little Horwood Road and Shipton hamlet. In her summing up at the end of a ten page report the Inspector, Mrs Jennifer Vyse,  that the proposals amounted to an ”unjustified development that would constitute an unnecessary intrusion into open countryside”.  The developers now have a six week window in which they can , if they wish, challenge the decision in the High Court on legal grounds relating to any alleged impropriety or error in the conduct of the appeal hearing.

Commenting after the decision was announced, Llew Monger, who had represented the Town Council throughout the four day hearing and site visit, said he was delighted by the outcome and particularly pleased for those residents at Shipton and in the Elmfields area who would have suffered from the development. 

You can’t vote for us in Buckingham but you can join us!

The Liberal Democrats in Buckingham don’t have a candidate in the General Election but we’ve not gone away.  We still have active councillors and campaigners working on a wide range of local issues who need your help and support.  The Liberal Democrats also have a very strong General Election election campaign in Aylesbury where our candidate is Steven Lambert.  So, if you feel that the ‘system’ has let you down why not make up for it by offering to help in Aylesbury for the General Election or by helping Llew with his local efforts in Winslow. Call Llew on 07808 096513 to offer your help.

No Lib Dem candidate for Buckingham in General Election

The Buckingham Lib Dem’s website is receiving a steady stream of emails from local electors disappointed to find that there will not be a Lib Dem candidate at the General Election.  Locally we wish we did have a candidate but the Party, along with the Conservatives and Labour are observing the convention that they do not contest the Speaker’s seat.  Once someone is elected Speaker they are obliged to withdraw from ‘party’ politics to preserve the independence of the post.  This is entirely reasonable but it leads to the effective disenfranchisement of electors in the Speakers constituency.  

To counter this situation local Lib Dems put forward a proposal  to the party’s annual conference last September that the Speaker should automatically become the Member for the honourary constituency of St Stephen’s and his, or her, constituents would be the members of parliament. (St Stephens is the name of the entrance to the House of Commons used by MP’s).  This would then allow a by-election in the Speakers former constituency which would enable electors to vote for the party of their choice without restriction. Changes such as this take time to bring about and the few changes to the electoral system which might have been passed by the outgoing government have just been scuppered by the Tories so we will have to hope that the new parliament will bring about the change.  All of this is very frustrating for us and for local electors.  However, there is some consolation in that Speaker John Bercow has said that he will only serve for two parliaments so even if the system isn’t changed at least Buckingham will not be disenfranchised for ever.