And so, dear readers, yet another Christmas approaches. This is probably the last time we'll be wishing you seasons greetings as, by next Christmas, the houses will probably be built and the Blog will no longer serve any purpose. On the other hand, construction work does seem to be taking rather a long time ...
Last time we looked on the SBC website there was still no sign that the provisions of the planning permission had been met. Whether this has anything to do with building progress, we can't say.
For now, then, a very Merry Christmas to one and all.
Monday 14 December 2015
Wednesday 15 July 2015
Planning Permission Breached
And the work continues. It looks like whoever owns the site at the moment is ignoring the SBC Enforcement Officer and the conditions of the planning permission.
Although residents will no doubt be pleased to see work underway on the site at long last, it doesn't augur well for the future if the legal requirements are ignored so early on.
It is the Borough Council's responsibility to ensure compliance. So far they have explained the situation to contractors working on site and written to the owners' solicitors. We look forward to seeing what action they take next.
Although residents will no doubt be pleased to see work underway on the site at long last, it doesn't augur well for the future if the legal requirements are ignored so early on.
It is the Borough Council's responsibility to ensure compliance. So far they have explained the situation to contractors working on site and written to the owners' solicitors. We look forward to seeing what action they take next.
Tuesday 14 July 2015
Start .. Stop ... Start
Further to our last post, it transpires that, a few weeks ago, the owners submitted a request to discharge condition 19 of their planning permission. This requires the submission and approval of road construction, street lighting and drainage details before work can commence. However, the request was denied by SBC which means it's still in force.
Nevertheless, earlier on today workmen turned up to start work! After some swift intervention by residents and one of our Borough Councillors, an Enforcement Officer duly arrived to ensure compliance with the planning permission conditions and work stopped.
The ownership issue remains unclear. We're assuming that the site has been sold which would explain the sudden burst of activity after five years of stagnation but we don't know to whom. The Land Registry shows no recent change of ownership although this could simply be a case of the paperwork not yet being processed. We understand that, whoever does own the site, is now taking advice from their architect with a view to satisfying the remaining planning conditions. Work will no doubt recommence at some point in the future hopefully in accordance with the planning permission.
Given the history of this saga, we would not be surprised if the new owners (assuming the site has been sold) were unaware that planning conditions had not been met. What does surprise us somewhat is that there is no requirement for any one to notify local residents that work is about to commence. Health & Safety? Noise? Traffic? Incovenience? Who are we to expect to be kept informed?
That's not the end of the matter, however. As we have been writing this piece, work has started again! In other words, the owners are flouting the planning permission, ignoring the Enforcement Officer and running the risk of having to rip out anything the BC doesn't like. Will the Borough Council step up to the plate and do the necessary? Your guess is as good as ours!
Nevertheless, earlier on today workmen turned up to start work! After some swift intervention by residents and one of our Borough Councillors, an Enforcement Officer duly arrived to ensure compliance with the planning permission conditions and work stopped.
The ownership issue remains unclear. We're assuming that the site has been sold which would explain the sudden burst of activity after five years of stagnation but we don't know to whom. The Land Registry shows no recent change of ownership although this could simply be a case of the paperwork not yet being processed. We understand that, whoever does own the site, is now taking advice from their architect with a view to satisfying the remaining planning conditions. Work will no doubt recommence at some point in the future hopefully in accordance with the planning permission.
Given the history of this saga, we would not be surprised if the new owners (assuming the site has been sold) were unaware that planning conditions had not been met. What does surprise us somewhat is that there is no requirement for any one to notify local residents that work is about to commence. Health & Safety? Noise? Traffic? Incovenience? Who are we to expect to be kept informed?
That's not the end of the matter, however. As we have been writing this piece, work has started again! In other words, the owners are flouting the planning permission, ignoring the Enforcement Officer and running the risk of having to rip out anything the BC doesn't like. Will the Borough Council step up to the plate and do the necessary? Your guess is as good as ours!
Stand-By
It looks as if the site was sold a while back and the commencement of work may well be imminent. One local resident has been told that initial building activities are about to be begin although it is by no means clear that the developers are aware of condition 19 to the planning permission which requires details of road construction, street lighting and drainage to be approved first.
Nice of them to let us know, eh? Anyway, our Parish Councillors and Borough Councillors are on the case. We''ll keep you posted and let you have the full story as the situation becomes clearer.
Nice of them to let us know, eh? Anyway, our Parish Councillors and Borough Councillors are on the case. We''ll keep you posted and let you have the full story as the situation becomes clearer.
Tuesday 7 April 2015
Voice of Rough Close Updated
Finally, after a very long self-imposed slumber, we can report that the Voice of Rough Close website has been substantially overhauled and updated. Click here to take a look.
Wednesday 25 March 2015
Keeping In Touch
As it's been some time since our last post we thought we'd better put something online to indicate that we are still here. We are, although there is little to report. Occasionally, people can be seen walking around the site and the odd vehicle parks up in the space by the site entrance. Other than that, developments seem thin on the ground. If you know any different do drop us a line.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)