I am keeping an eye on local planning matters in the area.

Co-op at Fromefield: Revised plans for the proposed Co-op convenience store (ref 2013/1514) have been submitted which the developer hopes will overcome local objections on design and road safety. Please see here for the revised plans, which were consulted on up to mid-May. The planning officer has prepared their report, and recommended approval. As a ward councillor I was asked whether I agreed to the approval or if it needs to be decided by councillors at Planning Board. I reviewed the plans and comments, and last week I asked for the case to be referred to the Planning Board, due to the concerns about road and pedestrian safety, design and building conservation, that were raised by local residents and the Town Council, and also due to the council’s legal responsibility to conserve bats (which need doing properly to avoid legal challenge); please see my response: Ward Member consultation cllrBoyden 2013-1514.  I am expecting a response shortly. It may be that the Chair and Vice Chair of Planning Board will not agree to refer it, but we’ll see. Some 12 residents objected, including on traffic, highway and pedestrian safety (including a local highways consultant, who knows what he is talking about), as well as design and historic conservation issues and the hours of opening, and 2 residents have written to support the proposals. Please see here for previous news about this one.

Update 3rd July: The Conservative Chair and Vice-Chair of Planning Board refused my request for the application to be decided at Planning Board, and have granted permission, despite local residents concerns. This is the system we have in Mendip, but at times like this I do not think it is a good one.

Bath Road Heights:  After withdrawing their previous planning application for 14 new homes at the former Mendip Lodge Hotel site earlier this year, Latona Leisure have now submitted a new planning application to develop the rest of the site at ‘Bath Road Heights’ for 8 new 4-bedroom detached homes (ref 2014/0981/FUL).  See here for the documents, including the plans, a Tree Survey and Method Statement, crime prevention and resource efficiency statements, and to login and respond via MDC’s website. Comments must be received by 22 July 2014.  I will be asking for a new pedestrian crossing here across Bath Road. No ‘affordable housing’ is included. Update August 2014: the planning application was refused by MDC’s planning officer largely due to the impacts on the large trees on site, and a lack of affordable housing in the proposals.

Forest Road: Stonebridge Tesco/shops extension and housing: A planning application (ref. 2014/0970) has been submitted for the ‘Extension to A1 convenience retail store and smaller shop unit, reconfiguration of space to provide an additional smaller shop unit, and the creation of 4 residential flats above. With associated extension and amendments to existing car park.’ See here for the plans and reports, and to log in and respond online. Comments must be received by 22 July 2014. I have also not been informed about this one (as I should be by the planning officer) so am reading up quickly. New cycle parking would be provided, and some 5 trees would be removed to fit in more car parking spaces (including 4 spaces for residents). Traffic generation has not been assessed. I am thinking this may be a good opportunity to generate funds for a scheme of improvements to modernise the Stonebridge Drive speed humps, so I will be asking Somerset Highways and the developer if funding can be obtained… I have more to read, but please look at the plans and let me know what you think so I can represent your views.

Packsaddle Way / Innox Hill: Proposals to develop 107 new homes at the end of Packsaddle Way in open countryside have been withdrawn. The proposals (ref 2013/2608) met with over 130 objections from residents, including mine, as well as the Environment Agency, Frome Town Council and Mendip’s housing development officer, after a spirited campaign by local residents.  The developer amended the flood risk assessment, commissioned a report to assess the landscape and visual impacts, and revised the masterplan to fit in a drainage attenuation pond. Mendip planners sought a second opinion on the viability of development, as the developer tried to justify not providing any ‘affordable housing’ here. Earlier this year I asked the developers to withdraw their plans, and they now have done.  I understand they might try to have the site allocated for development in Part 2 of Mendip’s Local Plan, but we shall have to wait and see. For now though, the threat of development here has receded. Please see here for previous news including my letter of objection.

Mendip’s Local Plan has been examined by an inspector. Following the examination hearings and receipt of the Inspector’s Initial Recommendations, the Council is now consulting on Main Modifications to the Local Plan Part I.  All representations must be received by 5pm on Monday 4th August. Mendip’s Local Plan is believed to have more weight in planning decisions from now on! The Main Modifications include that the housing supply figures are to be treated as a minimum requirement.  The Local Plan still states that some 9635 houses will be needed in the district up to the year 2029, including 2300 in Frome (including many already built or granted permission), and an additional 505 dwellings in the district which are not yet allocated to any particular location (but probably mostly in the north/northeast). The revised document states for Frome, around 1700 homes (down from the previous estimate of 2000) can be provided on brownfield land, and greenfield sites are needed to provide the remaining 400-600 homes. Larger housing sites are identified in the Local Plan Part 1 (including at Southfield Farm on the south east edge of town, which has outline planning permission for 450 houses), and the rest will be identified in Local Plan Part 2: Site Allocations document, which will start to be prepared later this year. The specific size for a medium sized foodstore at Saxonvale (previously ‘around 1500 sq ft’) has also been removed from the document. For further info see here, for the modifications please see here.

Commerce Park planning: Mendip previously proposed to change how planning applications at the Commerce Park are handled, but after receiving feedback and more information from the Coalway Lane Residents Association and others, have decided that the current arrangements (whereby planning applications in close proximity to houses are automatically referred to the Planning Board rather than decided by officers) should remain in place. See here for more on this.

Please get in touch if you have any issues to raise with these.

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