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roosterbri
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
553 Posts |
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Bert
Advanced Member
484 Posts |
 Posted - 15 Jan 2012 : 11:43:48
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| See my question to Angmering Parish Council on 16th Dec. 2011, under APC Q and A, and the response from APC Chair, in relation to this matter! |
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patty
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
738 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2012 : 12:44:04
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There is no update date on this site, and none of the 'extras' work when you click on them, so I would think this is the first step to them becoming more open with what they are planning to do, and that this was only put there in the last few days.
Very pleased that the new Parish website now has a seperate section for the Community Led Plan, which people can read the minutes of each group and see what is going on -
From this, please note on the last steering group minutes, that is was agreed, following a presentation from the Rugby club, to try to get all other possible developers to do the same.
I am aware that Barretts have recently agreed to come along to the next steering group meeting on 24th January.
It would look like this is the nudge they needed to open up what they are proposing for the village and let us all see.
I dare say, the public meetings will follow shortly after this.
We will all be watching closely I am sure.
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any comments and views listed above are those of myself personally and not as a Parish Councillor, and in no way reflect opinions of the Parish Council or any other professional bodies |
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Bert
Advanced Member
484 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jan 2012 : 16:52:55
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Thanks for the update Patty.
I appreciate things are "still very much up in the air," but I see from the minutes to which you refer, that the Developers Persimmon also attended with a rep from the Rugby Club, to provide "initial outline thoughts," on developing Rugby Club land.
You mention that "Barretts have recently agreed to come along to the next Steering Group meeting on 24th January," which I believe I saw on the minutes, will be at the Community Centre.
Is this a "presentation" of their initial plans or are they coming along to see what is going on within the Neighbourhood Plan, to see how things may pan out over the next 16 years?
Is it a presentation that will be of interest to Angmering residents, at this stage?
I still see the initial plans of Persimmon and Barretts, rather strange, on the basis that Arun DC have provided their Full Council preferred option of a small number of properties (100+) for Angmering over this period. I appreciate this is not set in stone at ADC as they have not produced their plan, but it it highly likely that these figures will remain for the full ADC plan.
Is there not a danger that these two developers are going to try to get plans in place before the Arun and Angmering Neighbourhood plans are set in stone? |
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neil
Forum Owner / Moderator
United Kingdom
2623 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2012 : 11:36:32
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I appreciate that Angmering Parish Council (APC) is caught between "the devil and the deep blue sea" but their first responsibility must be to the residents of Angmering. APC were first approached by one of the developers in the late Summer and, in cooperation with them, had planned a public meeting at the end of September. I was going to do some publicity on the meeting for APC and the developer. I was disappointed at the time as I would have been away on holiday at the time of the public meeting. In the event, the public meeting never took place.
APC ensured that none of these discussions was documented in any of their committee meeting minutes which, to my mind, conflicts with their policy of openness. Neither do I accept their assertion that, by informing residents of early discussions: "mistakes of the past will reoccur and everything will be done behind the backs of those very representatives that will look after the interests of the Angmering Community".
In its response to Nigel's question on their Q&A Forum on 23 December, APC never stated any dates of their discussions but left readers with the impression that these discussions with developers and the Rugby Club did not start until November, which I know was not the case. APC will, of course, deny that there was any attempt to mislead residents and maybe that is the truth.
However, the "Save Angmering Village" (SAV) group in their email to a number of residents stated "Would you like us to hire a hall and invite Arun District Council, Persimmons and Barratts to speak about their proposed ideas? We do fear that by the time we got this organised, agreed actions and implemented them the time lag may be too long". I would suggest that if APC had let residents and SAV know what was going on 4 or 5 months ago, then SAV would not be in the position they are in now in fighting what they are hinting as a rearguard action. You can read SAV's email at www.angmeringvillage.co.uk/news/n-SaveAngEmailJan12.pdf
What I would be interested in learning is whether both of the developers know of APC's opposition to more than 150 new homes in the next 14 years during what seems cosy little chats between APC and the Community-Led Plans' Committees, and the developers and Worthing Rugby Club.
The Rugby Club itself has cared little about Angmering during their 35 years in our Parish, but now wants to cooperate with APC as it is their best hope of getting support to sell their land for housing in order they can move their ground to Goring to fulfill their ambitious aims. |
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neil
Forum Owner / Moderator
United Kingdom
2623 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2012 : 19:23:11
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One of the problems we face is with "Wavy Davy" and his Government. We just do not know where the Coalition Government stands on the development of land and especially greenfield sites. In recent months it looked as if the green light had been given to developers to exploit greenfield sites but the land protection brigade has been hitting back with campaigns such as The Daily Telegraph's "Hands off our Land".
On 9 January, The Daily Telegraph reported David Cameron as saying:
quote:
"I care deeply about our countryside and environment. Our vision is one where we give communities much more say, much more control. The fear people have in villages is the great big housing estate being plonked down from above.
Our reforms will make it easier for communities to say ‘we are not going to have big plonking housing estate landing next to the village, but we would like 10, 20, 30 extra houses and we would like them built in this way, to be built for local people’.”
The full article can be read at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/hands-off-our-land/9002655/Hands-Off-Our-Land-Housing-estates-will-not-be-plonked-next-to-villages-pledges-David-Cameron.html
I hope SAV, APC, and residents remind authorities of this when commenting on any new planning applications are submitted for concreting over Angmering! Many people looked forward to an improvement after Gordon Brown, John Prescott & Co had been deposed. However, I'm not convinced that there has been any improvement on the housing development front under this Coalition Government - there is total lack of clarity!
We've already had one big housing estate "plonked" on us in recent years - we do not want or need another! |
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Bert
Advanced Member
484 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2012 : 20:33:36
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Neil, I agree with your concern. I suspect the problem for this Government is, that they have made it clear that they want communities to have more of the decision making in such matters, rather than being dictated to, as to how many properties should be built, by Central Government, as the last Labour Government did.
Hence, District, Town and Parish Councils have been encouraged to embark on these Neighbourhood Plans.
If Government laid their views down in a prescriptive manner, this would negate the Neighbourhood Plan, and everyone would ask: 'Well who is making the decisions on this, Central Government or local communities?'
If Central Government are too prescriptive then the Neighbourhood Plan will be rather pointless and they would be difficult to produce and implement and few would be interested in becoming involved.
I suspect David Cameron has said this, to give an indication of his view and his view is very clear, but having said such policy should be "bottom up" rather than "top down," he is hoping the relevent local authorities will grasp the clue!
I think the Parish Council are right to seek clarification with the relevant Minister, but this does need to be done with some urgency. There should be no delay in awaiting a reply, so the Plans reflect local opinion and local decision making, which is the object of the exercise. |
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patty
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
738 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2012 : 22:59:08
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From a purely personal point of view, I see the PC as a body who represents the Parish, and therefore its residents.
The Pc cannot pre-judge any development plans, nor can any of its members be for or against any plans. They all have to stay completely neutral.
The roll of the PC is to encourage dialogue and enable as much of the full facts to be presented to the public so that they can make an informed judgement and advise the PC of their wishes.
The majority wish has to be the one that the PC takes forward.
The point of the Neighbourhood plan is to determine what this Parish Wants and Does Not Want in the way of developments.
The working parties are meeting regularly and doing their best to formulate a plan that will then be put to the Parish to vote on.
Individuals or groups with strong opinions on these matters have always been welcomed to come along and join the working groups, they need all the help, opinions and views that can be gathered in order to present as thorough a plan as possible. The fewer people on the groups the more likely that something can be missed.
The word from the Government and our PM are that planning is to be dealt with 'bottom up' which means us, the general public. Of course we will get arguments, disagreements from District and County Councils because they still want to hold onto power, but at the end of the day, we stay stubborn, and follow the instructions from the PM (regardless of how one thinks of him) and we have to be listened to and win through.
This whole plan is one of the toughest projects I have ever known to be taken on and is incurring hours of additonal work. Most weeks I have meetings at least 4 nights sometimes 2 meetings in one evening. It is quite horrendous. I am not doing it for my pleasure, I am doing it because I believe this is what is good for our village and it gives everyone a chance to get involved and to feel they are involved.
Tons of information is coming out of this which will be useful in so many other things in the future, so it is good from all angles.
The Rugby club, have so far not even drawn up a rough dawing of their proposals. They came to the steering group meeting to advise the group of their intentions. They knew they could not influence or necessarily gain suppport, but they genuinely appear to want to involve the community Perhaps because they are aware they probably will not get their plans together before our plans are finalised and it is therefore prudent that they take note of how we are progressing and try to accomodate us before they go to a lot of expense putting together plans that will be totally unacceptable.
From their point of view surely, if they listen to what our plan says and work with it, it has to save them a lot of grief in the future.
Having said that, there is nothing cut and dried that they will get what they want.
As for Barrets, I personally cannot comment as I am not aware how far their plans have progressed, but I believe them to be much further advanced and could possibly be about to be submitted. The fact that they have agreed to come along to the steering group meeting gives something in their favour, as at the moment, all we appear to have is rumours, suggestions etc and it will be good to get this out in the open and find out exactly what they are planning so that everyone can be informed.
The PC cannot take action on speculation, it has to have its facts before it can present them to the public.
Lets remember how many years it has been said that the Rugby Club has been sold..............always speculation, but now they are getting the facts from the horses mouth so to speak and can therefore push to get that information out to the public.
Likewise with Barretts. They need the facts before they can present anything.
I would remind people as well, that all the working groups for the CLP contain members of the public and some Parish Councillors. The CHair and vice chair of each group is chosen from the public - not the PC. the PC act as an advisory/helpful part and hopefully encourage the public to put forward the ideas that are needed.
There is a totally separate page on the PC's new website for the CLP which shows all the minutes of every meeting together with the dates of the forthcoming meetings and venues.
Everything that is formulated on this HAS to go out to the public for consultation and a vote............nothing is behind closed doors.
Even at this stage new members will be welcomed to the working parties.
I can honestly say that every group has struggled to get to the levels they are today and some have gone in a slightly wrong direction before they realised and had to almost start again. Even then, it has all been a very useful exercise but dare I say, once again it is being left to the few.
This is about our village by our people for our people and will have effect for many years to come.
It would be good to see more members, no matter what you do, how you feel, that is the whole point.........it is about you and what you want or dont want.
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any comments and views listed above are those of myself personally and not as a Parish Councillor, and in no way reflect opinions of the Parish Council or any other professional bodies |
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neil
Forum Owner / Moderator
United Kingdom
2623 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jan 2012 : 09:55:59
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I do not quite understand the following statement which Pat makes:
"The Pc cannot pre-judge any development plans, nor can any of its members be for or against any plans. They all have to stay completely neutral" .
APC is aware of the feelings of The Angmering Society, the "Save Angmering Village" group (and their memberships) and all those residents who attended the meeting with Arun District Council at Angmering Community Centre earlier last year. Indeed, APC councillors attending vehemently expressed their own feelings which led to APC setting a policy of no more than 150 new homes in Angmering from now until 2026. APC has already communicated its policy to Arun District Council, irrespective of what any fine tuning may be done by the Community-Led Plan committee.
Based on the foregoing, APC cannot do anything else but pre-judge a development plan that commences with 200 or more houses. Additionally, the vast majority of residents do not appear to want any further development to the east of Roundstone Lane.
If APC are in any discussions/negotiations with developers, their starting point is zero new homes rising to 150 in the next 14 years. The starting point should not be 200 ! |
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Bert
Advanced Member
484 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jan 2012 : 10:32:12
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I'm sure it is irritating for those on the Parish Council and the Neighbourhood Plan committees, that individuals like me, (and I'm sure Neil can speak for himself,) have a bit to say, on this website but are not prepared to become personally involved. I am also sure as Patty indicates that this is a difficult and time consuming process and all credit to those involved.
So far as the Housing Development aspect of the Neighbourhood Plan is concerned, I agree with Neil.
The Plan should, and I'm sure is, based on the views of the residents, which are fairly clear for the reasons Neil provides above.
As I see it, the Plan should not take any account of what any developers may do, or want to do, over the coming months or years. The Plan should reflect what we the residents want, which the Plan committee, steering group and APC will be well aware of at this stage. The Plan, so far as relates to housing development, should be a plan for the majority of the residents, and no account made for the wishes of the developers.
Once the Plan is in place, the developers can work within it. If it does not meet their expectations, so be it. If the Plan provides a maximum of 100, but possibly up to 150 properties, within the next 14 years, ( which is the preferred option of the Full Council of ADC and agreed to by APC,) then clearly the developers will not be building 450. The developers are not running the show, the residents are, which will be reflected in what APC, the Plan committees and the final Plan will provide, and I have no doubt, they are doing a very good job to that conclusion, however difficult that task is.
So keep going, but APC is not neutral as to the Plan, it represents the residents, and our views are very clear in the vast majority.
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deb8
Average Member
59 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jan 2012 : 16:22:44
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Bravo Neil and Bert  |
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neil
Forum Owner / Moderator
United Kingdom
2623 Posts |
Posted - 25 Jan 2012 : 10:46:07
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So, the first lot of developers have openly announced their plans for land east of Roundstone Lane and will be holding a Public Consultation at the Village Hall on Saturday 4 February between 10am and 5pm. See AVL News page for further details.
If these developments go ahead they will have at least some impact on everyone in Angmering.
What impact will they have on parking in The Square, I wonder? Getting a doctor's appointment might be more difficult if nearly 1500 additional people are registered there!
Residents need to make their feelings known!
If they go ahead, there will certainly be impact on St Margaret's Primary School. It is already rather inappropriately sited on the far edge of the village in the north, and it would be asking much for parents to haul their children through the village centre and up Arundel Road where traffic congestion is already untenable at times. The only solution would be to downsize St Margaret's and build another primary school on the land originally earmarked for such a school (at the south of Bramley Green).
The geographical centre of all Angmering housing would move close to where Angmering Community Centre is now built. Could this mean that those now living in the north and west of the village are marginalised as major efforts would be required to integrate the east of Roundstone Lane residents into the community? |
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BFA
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
410 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jan 2012 : 23:07:59
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quote:
Originally posted by neil
What impact will they have on parking in The Square, I wonder?
Well, at the moment; due to Chandlers stuffing the village centre with employees' cars that force residents to park in the square when they'd otherwise park where the Chandlers' employees park (and some of them park in the square too), other local shop/ business employees parking in marked bays and lack of (consistent) enforcement of restrictions ..... there will be little change - spaces are at a premium and always have been.
quote:
Getting a doctor's appointment might be more difficult if nearly 1500 additional people are registered there!
They could register at other places which are more, or just as easily accessible, but our medical centre is (I think) the largest, has the largest car park and the largest waiting room. Fortunately I've not had much reason to visit it, but when I have the car park's been between almost deserted and half full and I've never seen the waiting room half full, so maybe they are anticipating these extra registrations and maybe Asda are also speculating.
Not a case of "If you build it, they will come" maybe more a case of "They're coming, let's build it ready for them"?
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Edited by - BFA on 28 Jan 2012 23:10:39 |
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Bert
Advanced Member
484 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jan 2012 : 12:29:02
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"Health & Medical Facilities Working Group of the Community led neighbourhood Plan- minutes of meeting 29/11/11.
The Coppice Practice (Rustington) - Angmering Medical Centre.
Having interviewed the Practice Manager -
The Coppice is not currently at full capacity of patients, as a number are referred to another practice due to their address.
If there was an increase in population, the Coppice would be able to cope- but Angmering Medical Centre would not."
Clearly, the Coppice is only mentioned in this issue, as the same group of Doctors cover both practices. If they did not, The Coppice would be a non issue. Very few patients living in Angmering would register at the Coppice. The one thing elderly patients require is relatively easy access to a medical centre, which for most would not include The Coppice at Rustington.
I would imagine the majority of people living south of the railway line, but just in the parish of Angmering, attend the Willow Green surgery.
Angmering currently has a population of 8,000+ (more than Arundel,) so it is already a large village both in size and population.
Clearly the Angmering Medical Centre and car park have been built to provide modern, spacious facilities. But so far as medical provision is concerned, as the minutes indicate .......it is at full capacity. |
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neil
Forum Owner / Moderator
United Kingdom
2623 Posts |
Posted - 02 Feb 2012 : 09:19:11
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Opposition to further new building developments in Angmering really kicks off today with an article in this week's Littlehampton Gazette. The paper also has an abbreviated version and protest group photo at:
http://www.littlehamptongazette.co.uk/news/local/vote_angmering_preparing_for_housing_dash_1_3474252?showResult=true&pollContentId=7.91028
There is also an on-line voting survey being run by the paper. This is dangerous for two reasons: - It can mislead Angmering residents into thinking that their on-line vote will form part of some official representation to Arun District Council - it won't. Do download the "Save Angmering Village" group voting form and send it back to them at 3 Cumberland Road.
- Readers outside Angmering who are threatened with more homes in their own towns and villages will vote for more homes in Angmering as it may take the pressure off for developments in their areas
The Littlehampton Gazette on-line voting form can only distort the whole picture and create misconceptions. Under the Government's "bottom up" approach to planning, it is for Angmering residents to determine what is required in Angmering and not people from Arundel, Ferring, Littlehampton, Clymping, Ford, etc. |
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Mr Growser
Average Member
United Kingdom
81 Posts |
Posted - 02 Feb 2012 : 09:55:33
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| An important issue that needs to be resurrected is whether the existing Village Schools can cope with the inevitable influx of new students fom the 500 plus houses we are threatened with. |
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Bramleymum
Junior Member
United Kingdom
10 Posts |
Posted - 03 Feb 2012 : 21:42:49
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This proposed development seems to have been the talk of the village over recent weeks, however I fear that talk is all it is! Just how many of these people that are so against having our lovely rural village destroyed will actually take the time to visit the exhibition at the village hall tomorrow and raise their concerns? I most certainly will!
Among my many questions will be...Where are all of these extra children planning on going to school? My children attend St Margarets and my daughter currently shares a classromm with 35 other pupils!!
The roads and parking facilities are already overstretched and a nightmare at the best of times, will they be financing the improvements that will need to be made to sustain the increased traffic?
Will they be providing the finances and land to build new medical facilities? Because the ones we have can not take on the amount of new patients created by this development!
and also in relation to their previous development...when exactly are they planning on completing their obligations to a development they began building almost 9 years ago? The traffic calming scheme that is supposed to rectify their 'race track' road layout has yet to be completed and the roads yet to be adopted, and I for one am quite looking forward to the day I actually receive all the services that I pay a ridiculous amount of council tax for!!!
There will be very few winners from this development...the developers, Worthing rugby club and Manor Nurseries....and what do they all have in common....they are the ones whos pockets will be lined!!! |
Edited by - Bramleymum on 03 Feb 2012 21:44:27 |
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Bert
Advanced Member
484 Posts |
Posted - 04 Feb 2012 : 11:34:11
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I won't be asking the developers any questions, I am 100% against any further development, in any form whatsoever, so the detail does not matter to me.
These developers only provide such "an exhibition," simply so they can subsequently tell the District Council, that they have had a "public consultation," with the residents of Angmering. It is something they are more or less obliged to do...token gesture.
The issue for those against the proposed development is to make their feelings known, in very large numbers, with sensible reasons and evidence, to the District Council when a planning application is put in. |
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Maddie
New Member
United Kingdom
3 Posts |
Posted - 05 Feb 2012 : 13:36:01
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| I found the 'presentation' by the developers yesterday completely ludicrous and agree with Bert that they are simply going through the motions. The boards contradicted each other (eg: no impact on traffic followed by an acknowledgement of congestion problems) yet the single representative I managed to beard told me that they have been working on this project for at least a year. During this time they should obviously have reviewed their previous development as BramleyMum says (not least the failure to adopt, the missing infrastructure, to mark the increasing traffic jams on the A259 that result in the funnelling of traffic through the village rather than via the A280. I believe that to strengthen any case, we need to refute their presentation board by board and so look forward to their publication on the web when we will have that chance. |
Maddie |
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Nigel
Senior Member
United Kingdom
238 Posts |
Posted - 05 Feb 2012 : 15:16:54
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BEWARE!!! The more comments you put on the developers website, as you were encouraged to do, the longer their legal team has to work on the responses to possible objections at the planning application stage. Save your objections for Arun District Council and the Parish Council when the application is made. I attended on Saturday and asked what benefits this development would give to Angmering. The only answer the gent I cornered could give was that it would give the village more affordable housing. When pushed further, he implied that they would sell these direct to a housing association who could then offer them as a part-buy/part-rent DYSO scheme.
The greensward in the middle of the development would give our travellers an alternative to Bramley Green, and yet more bills for the Parish Council....namely YOU. |
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Pansy
Senior Member
United Kingdom
172 Posts |
Posted - 05 Feb 2012 : 15:57:45
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"We have been negotiating with the developers and they are amenable to us continuing in business while their plans go through. It has just happened sooner than we expected." (source: Littlehampton Gazette)
The above comment from Manor Nurseries extracted from the Littlehampton Gazette is somewhat disturbing. How gracious of David Wilson Homes and Barretts to allow Manor Nurseries to continue trading WHILE THEIR PLANS GO THROUGH. A portent of the struggle ahead that the residents of Angmering face in opposition to the invading army of wealthy developers!
I took a look at the plans displayed in the village hall yesterday and must say they were well presented and obviously cost a great deal of time and money to produce. However, no-where did they deal with the current infrastructure of the village which will be unlikely to cope with the influx of so many houses and residents. Where is the new primary school that the developers of Bramley Green promised years ago? |
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neil
Forum Owner / Moderator
United Kingdom
2623 Posts |
Posted - 05 Feb 2012 : 16:19:08
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quote:
Originally posted by Nigel
BEWARE!!! The more comments you put on the developers website, as you were encouraged to do, the longer their legal team has to work on the responses to possible objections at the planning application stage. Save your objections for Arun District Council and the Parish Council when the application is made.
Totally agree with Nigel - keep your ammunition back! |
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Pansy
Senior Member
United Kingdom
172 Posts |
Posted - 05 Feb 2012 : 16:41:27
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| Sensible advice, Neil, and I shall now keep my head down! |
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Scott
New Member
United Kingdom
1 Posts |
Posted - 07 Feb 2012 : 19:44:56
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Apologies if this has been covered BUT has anyone mentioned policing of the new estate?
It may shock you to learn that the response officers for this area work out of Bognor Regis police station. I have it on good authority that there are no further police resources available. It's a fact that social housing residents occupy more police attention than private. This new estate will be a further strain on these resources we rarely see but thankfully due to our peaceful village, rarely need. |
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Robinf
Senior Member
105 Posts |
Posted - 08 Feb 2012 : 12:40:24
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quote:
Originally posted by neil
quote:
Originally posted by Nigel
BEWARE!!! The more comments you put on the developers website, as you were encouraged to do, the longer their legal team has to work on the responses to possible objections at the planning application stage. Save your objections for Arun District Council and the Parish Council when the application is made.
Totally agree with Nigel - keep your ammunition back!
And your powder dry!! |
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Robinf
Senior Member
105 Posts |
Posted - 08 Feb 2012 : 13:55:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Scott
Apologies if this has been covered BUT has anyone mentioned policing of the new estate?
It may shock you to learn that the response officers for this area work out of Bognor Regis police station. I have it on good authority that there are no further police resources available. It's a fact that social housing residents occupy more police attention than private. This new estate will be a further strain on these resources we rarely see but thankfully due to our peaceful village, rarely need.
Apologies if some folk have already seen this, but here's a link to some interesting data regarding crime in Angmering.
[http://www.ukcrimestats.com/Neighbourhood/Sussex_Police/Angmering#League].
What the data does not show is the % of convictions. However, what it does show is that whilst Angmering is an area of 'low crime', by far and away the biggest problem in Angmering is that of ASB (anti social behavior) and therefore probably commands much police time which leaves less time for dealing with other more serious criminal issues. There is a caveat to the data and that is detailed on the web page but I think it is a reasonable assumption that with the proposed increase in population, it can be expected that incidents of ASB will increase proportionately. |
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Stirrer
Junior Member
17 Posts |
Posted - 09 Feb 2012 : 16:33:38
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Do the police ever come out to incidents? ;-)
quote:
Originally posted by Scott
Apologies if this has been covered BUT has anyone mentioned policing of the new estate?
It may shock you to learn that the response officers for this area work out of Bognor Regis police station. I have it on good authority that there are no further police resources available. It's a fact that social housing residents occupy more police attention than private. This new estate will be a further strain on these resources we rarely see but thankfully due to our peaceful village, rarely need.
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neil
Forum Owner / Moderator
United Kingdom
2623 Posts |
Posted - 18 Feb 2012 : 17:31:40
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I know that a lot of people in the northern part of Angmering, and indeed other parts, believe that any development to the east of Roundstone Lane will not affect them in any way, but is this the case? I think not!
Even if a Primary School needs to be built on Bramley Green, this will not be opened for several years and in the meantime the traffic through the High Street, Weavers Hill, The Square, Arundel Road, and Station Road will all see a substantial increase in traffic as parents take their kids up to St Margaret's by car, and fight their way back through the village centre.
So how many children are we talking about? Well, on the Barratts/Wilson site alone there are likely to be up to 150 children of Primary School age and about 150 of Secondary School age.
If the Rugby Club site (Persimmon Homes) and perhaps later the Van Heyningen nurseries sites are developed, then we are talking of about 700 new homes to the east of Roundstone Lane - bigger than Bramley Green - with over 2000 additional residents and nearly 700 children of school age, about 450 of which would be looking to receive Primary School education. Obviously, St Margaret's could not cope and neither could traffic movements through The Square and Arundel Road.
But Bramley Green residents should also think of the effect of 700 children from new developments (some on foot and some by car) making their way in the morning against BG residents leaving for work if and when all the kids go to a new Primary School there and The Angmering (Secondary) School.
Also, all these new residents need to be integrated into the parish, and the Parish Council will need to find ways of doing this. A Community Centre was built on Bramley Green (with much acrimony) to serve and to help integrate both old and new communities but this cost us nearly £1 million which we are all still paying for (and with which I personally do not have a problem). But residents of North Angmering and all other areas (including Bramley Green) will almost certainly have to cough up more in the parish precept part of their Council Tax to pay for Parish Council integration initiatives. I should add that I am not having a go at the Parish Council. These are just realities.
So, residents of Angmering, you can sit back and do nothing or fight the proposals for all these unnecessary new homes that are proposed. Make no mistake, any agreement by Arun District Council to the Barratt/Wilson development of 301 new homes WILL create a precedent and open the floodgates for probably another 400 homes to the south of that development, a total of some 700.
If you have neighbours who do not take local newspapers or look at the AVL site, talk to them about what is proposed. |
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Pansy
Senior Member
United Kingdom
172 Posts |
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roosterbri
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
553 Posts |
Posted - 21 Feb 2012 : 17:31:09
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| Could the Neighbourhood plan knock the developers for six? If so, do we know how the plan is coming on in its effort to pre-empt? |
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neil
Forum Owner / Moderator
United Kingdom
2623 Posts |
Posted - 21 Feb 2012 : 18:00:04
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The Angmering Plan will not be ready and finalised much before the end of this year, so it will be too late to use it to challenge the developers who might submit their planning application within the next month. Even then there is no guarantee that it would be effective.
What we need NOW is some form of referendum/survey asking residents whether they want to see all this land developed. If the 3 sites down Roundstone Lane are developed, we could see the population of Angmering jump to over 10,000 within the next 10 years - a sobering thought! |
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Bert
Advanced Member
484 Posts |
Posted - 21 Feb 2012 : 19:40:25
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Neil...I agree.
I appreciate the Parish Council are doing a good job in leading the issues for the Neighbourhood Plan and I understand they will put out some form of consultation document for the residents in due course.
But there is great urgency now, for some form of resident opinion, on the proposed large scale development to the east side of our village that will affect all residents of Angmering, not just those that reside near Roundstone Lane.
It would be beneficial at any planning application, to be able to inform ADC, that an official, organised survey had been held of residents, and provide the figures for and against, any proposed development on this scale.
ADC would have to take this into consideration when making a decision, as it would represent the wishes of residents.
The only organisation or group in the village, who have the resources for such a survey, in the next 3/4 weeks is the Parish Council. |
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Robinf
Senior Member
105 Posts |
Posted - 21 Feb 2012 : 20:52:20
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| I guess the question is then, will and can the Parish Council do this and whose buttons need to be pressed on the Parish Council to make it happen? If they can what is the legal position with regard to any result they achieve, i.e. can the result make any difference? Can any pressure be brought to bear on the local MP when he visits the village shortly? |
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neil
Forum Owner / Moderator
United Kingdom
2623 Posts |
Posted - 22 Feb 2012 : 09:43:38
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Robinf, Angmering parish councillors represent the people of Angmering and need to be guided by them, especially on major issues such as proposed large building developments in the parish.
One then has to ask the question of what line will the Parish Council take when the first planning application is submitted for the building on land east of Roundstone Lane. If APC has not asked residents how they feel about the developments in that area, how can they possibly respond to the planning application. If they do, without consultation with residents, then it is unlikely that their response will adequately reflect the wishes or strength of feeling of the residents of Angmering, and they will have failed as our representatives.
What they need to arrange, as a matter of priority, is a referendum/survey to ascertain residents' feelings about the proposed developments east of Roundstone Lane. Rather than a referendum involving Arun District Council and polling stations, I would suggest APC carry out a direct referendum/survey providing each household in Angmering with a voting slip and a freepost envelope for return to the Parish Office (requesting those who can to put their form back through the office door to save money).
People are more likely to respond to this than having to turn out to vote at a polling station on a specific date, especially if the weather is inclement.
The proposed developments off Roundstone Lane are the most important issue that APC has at the moment with the exception of day to day emergencies and this should be their No. 1 priority. Everything else should have a lower priority - unless, of course, APC are thinking favourably upon the proposed housing!
Neither an official referendum involving Arun District Council nor a more informal poll by APC probably has any legal standing to stop Arun's Development Control Committe finding in favour of the developers. However, it will reflect the wishes of the local community which, as Bert suggests, they should take into account. No doubt there will be many people who will wish to hear what Nick Herbert has to say on the matter when he holds his MP's question time in the Village Hall on Friday 2 March. |
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Robinf
Senior Member
105 Posts |
Posted - 22 Feb 2012 : 22:39:52
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Neil,
Thank you for your response. I totally agree you that APC’s number one priority must be to hold a referendum since this would appear to hold more weight than other methods of gathering public opinion in terms of influencing the authority's decisions. However, and with respect, I am still not clear from your message, how the community ensures APC initiates a referendum, particularly as you say, ‘unless of course APC are thinking favourably upon the proposed housing’, in which case it would not be in their interest to hold a referendum. This would be counter to the perceived wisdom that they are guided by the opinions and desires of the local community.
As we agree, a referendum must be APC’s priority, but my point is, who is going to take 'ownership' of ensuring that APC does hold a referendum on this important issue and when, and how will the result of any discussions between APC and the ‘owner’ be communicated back to the residents?
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patty
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
738 Posts |
Posted - 22 Feb 2012 : 22:55:05
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A referendum/public poll or similar unfortunately, holds no power or legalities in deciding a planning application.
It may show what the public feel, but that is about it.
Planning applications can only be objected to on planning matters.
A proper referendum/Parish Poll if called for has to be done through Arun DC and taken up by APC who would be responsible for the costs.
These would amount to approx £6000. (according to Arun DC).
If a more basic survey was carried out by APC, it would still cost around £2000, possibly a bit more/bit less.
Would the Parish be happy in these sort of sums being spent on something that has no legal standing?
I ask this as a genuine question with no agenda attached.
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any comments and views listed above are those of myself personally and not as a Parish Councillor, and in no way reflect opinions of the Parish Council or any other professional bodies |
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roosterbri
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
553 Posts |
Posted - 23 Feb 2012 : 05:49:05
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""Planning applications can only be objected to on planning matters.""
Uh???? Definition please.
Sounds like its all cut and dried....a new village of "Angmering by Roundstone"
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derekdainton
deleted
579 Posts |
Posted - 23 Feb 2012 : 08:30:53
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Wonder how many of the Save Angmering campaign questionnaires were actually completed and returned? What chance that a referendum would fare any better.
Apathy of the majority of residents, combined with a toothless Parish Council, will combine to see these developments succeed.
Neil is right. The Parish Council should be fighting tooth and nail to contest this blight on the village they purport to represent. Not a lot of evidence, at least in this instance, to suggest they see this as their prime purpose. |
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neil
Forum Owner / Moderator
United Kingdom
2623 Posts |
Posted - 23 Feb 2012 : 13:33:36
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Derek, I understand that 270 SAV forms have been returned to date. Actually, that's pretty good seeing that many of the responders will have had to have gone to the trouble of downloading forms from the SAV and AVL websites. Many of the forms would probably also represent the views of a whole household, so that views expressed may be those of, say, up to 500 people.
With a voting form from the Parish Council actually delivered to households (together with freepost envelopes) I think there could be a reasonable chance of a good response (perhaps 40% to 50% or perhaps a tad more). I doubt whether if people had to go to a polling station there would be more than a 25% turnout!
A number of people writing here seem to be concerned over the stance of the Parish Council. What has really alarmed me is a statement in an article in today's Littlehampton Gazette which reads:
quote:
“The proposed housing scheme, on land north of Worthing Rugby Club, was a key talking point during the sessions, with most villagers attending keen to see the development go ahead, so long as developers took their concerns on board”.
This article was developed from a Press Release issued by Angmering Parish Council following the Neighbourhood Plan Drop-In Sessions last week which contained the statement: quote:
Over the two sessions, more than 400 people turned up and voiced their opinions, a turn-out much higher than such events in other parishes. There is no doubt that the presentation the previous week by Barratt/David Wilson Homes proposing the building of 300 residential properties on land between Roundstone Lane and the by-pass had generated a lot of interest in the subject, but the general feeling was that the project was well worth doing. (my underlining, not the Parish Council's)
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derekdainton
deleted
579 Posts |
Posted - 23 Feb 2012 : 14:21:57
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| That response is pretty good. Perhaps not so apathetic after all. Feedback from APC suggests they are on different planet. Would it be too much to require definitive statement on whether they are Pro or Anti? Fence sitting is just not acceptable and raises serious questions as to their legitimacy. |
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roosterbri
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
553 Posts |
Posted - 23 Feb 2012 : 14:49:02
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Neil
You have successfully ghasted my flabber. Reading the above extracts reinforces my belief that is a done deal and we are wasteing precious drinking time talking about it on here........or.... is there mischievy afoot???? Does the Gazette obtain its info from the general public or the developers?? Why would any villagers ""be keen to see the development go ahead??""
Oh well perhaps its because I am in the NO DEVOLOPMENT brigade and of course others are entitled to their opinion.
If the Rugby Club are short of room why did they not buy the field next to the club that the developers will have to buy, and where by Goring Station is there an area that is bigger than the existing club premises. Do the residents of Goring know about this cunning plan?? |
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Building Development in Angmering (Part 1)
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