Merry Christmas

More Support from Politicians

A somewhat belated post, this.  Despite the "moving target" that seems to be a feature of this application, we have now received a further letter of support from Bill Cash MP.  This makes an impressive array of political support which now includes Stafford Borough Councillor Richard Oldfield who has had the planning application called-in, our three Parish Councillors as well as the entire Parish Council.

Who Stole the Roof?

Strange goings on today, folks.  It seems that workmen have been along to the pub and removed some of the roof tiles.  Why would they do that?  If we had any money we would offer a prize for the best suggestion but have a go anyway.  Here are a few possibilities to get you started:

1.  To encourage the bats to leave their roosts so that Staffs Wildlife Trust won't have anything to object to
2.  To ventilate the lounge and snug which by now must have become very stale and musty
3.  To allow the wind and rain to get inside thus damaging the interior beyond economic repair which would make the pub unsaleable and start the "decline and decay" threatened in the design statement.
4.  To provide an emergency escape route for Santa when he visits on Thursday in case he is unable to find anyone inside who has been good enough during the year to deserve presents.

Take your pick, folks, the choice is yours!

Bats in the Belfry (reprise)

Strange goings on here.  Avid readers of the Blog may remember that Staffordshire Wildlife Trust placed a holding objection on the original application (for the flats) on the grounds that there might have been protected species and habitats on the site.

Well, it seems that no one in the Planning Department told them about the new proposal hence the absence of any comments from them on the Planning portal.  Fortunately some well meaning citizen contacted them recently and put them in the picture.  They have now sent in another holding objection on the same grounds as before.  We are just left wondering who could possibly have tipped them off ?

And Another Thing

After Thursday's Parish Council meeting, it was pointed out to us by one of the Fulford Ward Councillors that the planning application does not make any allowance for the social needs of anybody short sighted enough to purchase one of the proposed houses.  Where, for instance, are children going to play? 

Five-bedroomed houses indicates that the target market will be families.  Families have children.  Children need to socialise.  The proposals make no allowance for this.  As shown on the plans, the gardens are tiny or non-existent.  There is not enough room to accommodate playing areas.  Kids being kids, we are just fearful of where they might end up. 

That's One Small Step

Well done to those brave souls who ventured out this damp Thursday evening to attend the Fulford Parish Council meeting.  Councillors seemed well impressed with the turnout which they recognised showed the depth of feeling there is within the community against the proposals.

Borough Councillor Richard Oldfield was also present to announce that he had called-in the application as was our other Borough Councillor Peter Roycroft who sits on the Planning Committee and noted the objections we raised.

When it came to it, the vote it was unanimous.  All were opposed to the application with no absentions.

A terrific effort from the whole community which was well rewarded.

A Revelation

If you saw the story in tonight's edition of The Sentinel about the opposition to the planning application, you may well have picked up on what we think is a bit of a give away by developer Phil Taylor (the owners' agent) who is quoted as saying that the original application (for flats) was, in fact, intended for social housing.  In case you missed that here it is again.  The original application was intended for social housing! 

Now then, there were those who may have suspected that was the intention all along but nowhere in any of the documents associated with that planning application did it say anything about social housing.  The design statement did not mention it.  Our councillors were not informed of it.  The Borough Council did not tell us about it.  Probably because they didn't know either.

All of this leaves us wondering what they are not telling us about the latest application.

A Light Comes On

We regret to announce that we missed a trick regarding the revised submission.  Having gone through the various plans and responses again, all has now become abundantly clear! 

The new plans are based on the responses not just of the aborculturist but also the Highways Authority who initially objected on the grounds of traffic queueing to enter and exit the properties (amongst other things).

The response from the owners has been to increase the number of parking spaces per property to three in addition to the integral garage as well as making small changes to accommodate the retained trees.

This is not easy to tell from the plans posted on the Staffordbc website.  We've just been up to see a copy of the full scale versions held in the Parish office.  They haven't been provided with any more explanation than we have but at least their versions are easier to read.

As we pointed out in an earlier post, this means four vehicles per house (and let's not forget that that could include vans) making 32 vehicles as a minimum.  We don't know what the folks in Sunningdale View think about this but it scares us witless.

The Magic Roundabout

Readers of a certain age may recall this children's TV programme from the 1960's which acquired a cult following amongst the young and not so young alike.

We were reminded of this long forgotten classic late last week with the announcement of  revisions to the plans for the George & Dragon site.

In an earlier post, we reported that the Borough aborculturist had slapped a tree preservation order on the whole site.  It turns out that our suspicion that this might lead to design changes was right.  The owners responded immediately with a revised site plan which now includes the trees and Stafford BC has now sent out another letter asking for our comments.  We appear to be going round in circles.

• First there was the application to build flats
• Then there was the announcement that there would be a revision and that we would have to send in more letters 
• Next, the application was withdrawn
• Then another application was submitted
• Now this application has been revised before it has been fully assessed

In our view, we are being presented with a moving target, a point which we have taken up with Stafford Borough Councillor Richard Oldfield.   Not only that but the plans are now out of step with the design statement which has not been resubmitted.  What we can learn from this is that we need to be vigilant and keep up the pressure so, if you haven't written in yet, now might be a good time.

Anyway, as far as the revisions themselves go, we are hard pushed to spot the differences between the original and the new version, a point not helped by the omission of any kind of explanation.  Close inspection, however, reveals the presence of more trees on the revised plans suggesting that the owners have indeed responded to the tree preservation order.

Unfortunately, it also reveals something else.  Each of the eight houses is now shown with THREE car parking spaces in addition to a garage rather than two plus garage that were originally designed.  This means, dear readers, that there could be as many as 32 vehicles on this site - almost as congested as the onerous block of flats now thankfully consigned to the dustbin of planning history.

One of the major objections to any development of the pub site has always been the adverse impact on the already dangerous traffic conditions.  We learnt recently that there have been five fatalities in this area during the past 14 years.   Is it really in the interests of road safety to add another 32 vehicles?

If there is any good news at all about the revised application it is that we now have another two weeks in which to object.  As we said earlier, if you haven't written in yet there is no time like the present.

Florence, Dougal and Brian, we miss you!

The Empire Strikes Back

Events took an unexpected turn,  this week, when opposition to the planning application emerged from the most unlikely of sources: none other than Stafford Borough Council itself who have slapped a tree preservation order on the whole site!

The full implications of this are not totally clear yet but it is not unreasonable to assume that the design of the development might have to be reconsidered.  The current plans appear to involve the removal of some the existing trees which presumably now can't happen. Watch this space! 

AND DON'T FORGET TO SEND IN YOUR LETTERS OF OBJECTION!

Parish Council Planning Committee Meeting

There is a meeting of the Parish Planning Committee next Tuesday, 24th November at which, we are reliably informed, 09/12885/FUL will be discussed.  The meeting is open to members of the public.  Unfortunately, we will not be able to attend due to business commitments but we urge all to do so.  The meeting will be held in the Village Hall and starts at 7pm.

What Next?

Having studied the new proposals in some depth, we have to admit to being somewhat confused by the basic designs.  Three storey "dwellings" with five bedrooms?  And only two day rooms on the ground floor?  We would have thought that for a modern house to be desirable in the current climate there would have to be at least three ground floor rooms ie. a kitchen, lounge and dining room.

Call us paranoid if you like but none of this made sense to our way of thinking until someone else dropped another variable into the mix.  What if, at some future time, having won permission to develop these "dwellings" the owners decided to convert them to flats?  Eight dwellings with three storeys = 24 flats.  Which is, purely coincidentally, the same number of cars the application makes provision for!

We've checked with the Borough Council who advise that another planning application would be required if the owners wanted to undertake such a conversion.  However, by that time the pub would be long gone and the "dwellings" erected.  And where would the residents be then poor things?

Of course, all of this is purely hypothetical and just another example of our weary ramblings .....

Baffled and Bamboozled?

Anyone reading the new application might be somewhat baffled by some of the statements it contains.  For example, it claims to have followed recommendations made by the local Parish Council.  We had a long chat with Councillor Joy Bennett about this recently.  Councillors did indeed meet with the owners and gave opinions about the proposals.  The only recommendation they made was that the owners should present their intentions to the local community at an open morning (there is an earlier blog post about this).  The owners chose to disregard this recommendation.

Another claim made in the Design Statement (page 7) is that "the new solution is based on general views provided by the community and parish as a whole."  Did they ask your opinion?  We don't know of anyone who has been consulted or provided information to the owners or planners.  If they had taken any notice of local opinion then perhaps they might have given it up as a bad job and looked for somewhere more appropriate to develop their flats.

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!  LEAVE A COMMENT.

(You won't have to give any personal information if you do).

The Full Application

Well, it's all up there now.  Full details of the new application are now available on the Stafford Borough Council website.  If you want to take a look at all the documents, you can use the link in the side panel on this page.  For those of you who don't then here is a quick summary.

The application proposes eight "dwellings" (houses to you and me).   There are two rows comprising four houses in each, set either side of an access road which would run from Stone Road to the rear of the site (what is currently the car park).  The access road would be "unadopted" which presumably means that the Borough Council won't have any responsibility for its upkeep.

The houses are three storeys high.  The groundfloor consists of an integral garage, kitchen/ diner, utility and lounge.

The first floor comprises three bedrooms and a bathroom.  On the second floor (ie. the roof void) there are two more bedrooms making five bedrooms in all.

And that's about the size of it.  We are currently studying these plans in detail.  In the meantime, if you have any thoughts you want to share, either make a comment or drop us a line using the link on the right hand side of the page.

One final thing, according to the Staffsbc website, consultation letters have been sent out so we should be getting them any day now.

Happy reading.

New Planning Application

The new planning application in respect of the George & Dragon has now been submitted. It's for "eight dwelling units".  Unfortunately, there are no plans or other details on the Staffordbc website so we'll have to hold our breath for a little while longer.

The new reference number is 09/12885/FUL.  Use the link in the panel on the right-hand side to go straight to the application.

It's All Gone Quiet Over There

And it has.  Even the light has gone out!  Not a great deal to report at the moment.  We are still waiting for the owners to submit their planning application for the "housing scheme" (we still think that sounds ominous).  However, that doesn't mean to say that there isn't work to be done.  We have a few irons in the fire that we are working on at the moment and will reveal in due course. 

In the meantime, keep those pencils sharpened!

Pub History - Can You Help?

Many residents feel that the George & Dragon is of particular historical interest and should be preserved.  There are few old public buildings in the area and it forms an important part of the village's history and local  heritage.

Unfortunately, there is not a lot of published information about either the pub or the village which would substantiate this argument.

Do you know anything about the history of the George & Dragon?  Have you got any really old photographs of the interior or exterior (earlier perhaps than the example given in the archive) ?  The Blog would be very interested to hear from any residents who can provide any material about the pub and its history.  If you do, then please drop me a line by clicking on the link in the Taking Action column on the right hand side of this page.

An Interesting Development

It seems that the current planning application, 09/12464/FUL, the one we have all been fighting, is to be withdrawn.  PA Taylor Plans, acting on behalf of the owners, have written to Stafford Borough Council advising them of their intention to do this. 

However, let's not get too carried away with what at first sight looks like welcome news.  They are intending to submit a new application based on a "housing scheme" with fewer units.  Quite what this will look like is anybody's guess and we'll just have to await developments. The reconsultation exercise will not start until the current application has been withdrawn and a new one submitted.

News from the Coal Face

Finally, some news from the Borough Council!  There is to be a reconsultation exercise in respect of the revised plans.  However, it seems that another change to the application is on the way and John Holmes has not yet organised anything. 

One thing we need to watch out for, though, is that it looks like we'll have just 14 days in which to respond.  Look out for those letters in the post!

All Quiet on the Western Front

In the absence of any news from Stafford Borough Council about the revised plans, it was very reassuring to get an email from Parish Councillor Joy Bennett.   Joy advised that the matter had been discussed at the previous evening's meeting of the Parish Council but that our Borough Councillor had been unable to provide a definitive answer.  She recommends waiting until we get our next letter from Stafford BC and then having the application called in again.

Interestingly, Joy was also at the meeting along with Ian Parry when the owners presented the new plans.  Apparently, her suggestion that an opening morning be held at which the plans could be presented to residents was rejected on the grounds that the owners had been verbally attacked by some residents.

Revised Plans Published

The revised plans for the pub have now been published on the Staffordbc web site.  As far as I can tell the following changes have been  made:

• There are now four separate blocks of flats each comprising two storeys
• Two of the blocks run adjacent to the Leadenhall Lane end
• A longer block runs the length of what is currently the car park to the rear of the pub
• The fourth runs alongside the field to the north of the pub
  
• The four blocks surround a central parking area which lets out directly onto Stone Road
  
• There is a total of 20 flats altogether with parking for 27 vehicles

However, only the plans themselves have been published.  There is no accompanying text by way of explanation!   Not only that but John Holmes has yet to advise how the submission of the revised plans affects the overall consultation process.   I for one shall be writing to voice my protest at this lack of communication.

As reported in an earlier post, Ian Parry recently met the owners to discuss the revised plans.  Councillor Parry advised them to hold a public consultation exercise to explore what sort of proposals residents might find acceptable.  That meeting took place on Tuesday of this week.  The revised plans were published today, just two days later. This must surely further demonstrate the lack of concern the owners have for local sensitivities and sound common sense.

Ian Parry Meets the Owners

County Councillor Ian Parry met the owners of the George & Dragon last Tuesday evening.  The purpose of the meeting, held at the request of the owners, was to discuss their revised plans (earlier posts refer).  The Blog doesn't have full details at this stage, but it appears that the new plans cater for 20 flats rather than the original 26.

So what's changed?  It's still a block of flats, it's still not appropriate for the area, it's still dangerous and it's still not a good use of the site.

Ian Parry is still opposed to the plans and advised the owners to hold a public consultation exercise to explore other options which residents may find more acceptable.  That should be worth waiting for!!

Keep those Pencils Sharpened!

It is very much looking like the applicant is going to submit a revised proposal.  County Councillor Ian Parry has confirmed that the applicants are in the process of revising their plans at the moment. Quite what this means in terms of any future consultation exercise is not yet clear.  We are awaiting a response from Stafford BC to establish whether the current process will simply continue or if it will mean starting all over again.  I'll keep you posted as soon as we hear anything.

More Developments on the Way?

In an earlier post,  I mentioned that Bill Cash had written to Stafford Borough Council supporting our objections to the planning application.  John Holmes, Development Control Manager at the council, has now replied to Bill's letter in which he says:

"It is believed that the developer intends to submit significant amendments to this application.  It is understood that these amendments are intended to be made to the layout of the site but not the overall character of the scheme".

The letter continues:

"If an amended scheme is submitted  then a further comprehensive publicity and consultation exercise will occur.  Any representations received in response to this exercise will be taken into account in the determination of the planning application".

We are currently seeking clarification of what form the additional exercise will take.  In the meantime, better keep those pencils, sharpened folks!  We may have more writing to do.

English Heritage

As some of you may know, English Heritage have  been giving consideration to declaring the George & Dragon a listed building.  They have now finished their enquiries and have made a recommendation to the Department for Communities, Media and Sport (DCMS).  We await their decision with baited breath!  Rest assured, as soon as I hear anything I'll post it here.

Interestingly, it seems that two residents made separate applications independently to English Heritage.  I know who one of them is but not the other.  If the other applicant would like to drop me a line, I'd be delighted to swap notes.

More Political Support

Our Staffordshire County Councillor, Ian Parry, has now formally joined us in objecting to the planning application.  In his letter to Stafford Borough, Councillor Parry objects to  the over density of population that the proposals would lead to.  He goes on to express concerns over the proximity to the busy road junction.  Finally, he notes that there is universal disapproval by local residents and no signficant demand for housing in this part of the borough anyway.

Well said indeed.

Some Common Sense at Last?

More good news for those opposed to the planning application has come in the form of  a consultation response from Staffordshire Highways Authority.   They have recommended that the planning application be refused on the grounds that:

• There is inadequate provision for parking and turning within the site
• The development will result in an increased likelihood of "highway danger" due to vehicles "waiting on the public highway ... and manoeuvring ... ".
• The application fails to provide sufficient information that adequate vehicular visibility can be achieved
  

A statement of the obvious if ever there was one but at least now it's official.

More Opposition to the Proposals

Staffordshire Wildlife Trust have joined us in opposing the planning application. According to their letter on the Stafford Borough Council website, the application has ecological implications on what is an area of natural woodland and protected species of wildlife.  The trust has consequently requested an extended phase 1 habitat survey.

It seems that this time of year is not ideal for a survey to be carried out and a more detailed survey may need to be done next summer.

The Trust has submitted a holding objection due to the need for further information.

Last Week

And what a week it was.  First of all, Monday saw the closing date for public comments.  Over 85 emails and letters (discounting those who wrote in twice) were posted on the Stafford Borough Council website.  All but one of them were strongly opposed to the application.  And the protests did not just come from residents.   A number of people from the wider area who have enjoyed visiting the George and Dragon wrote in to voice their objections.

Then there was the Fulford Parish Council meeting on Thursday which was packed with Rough Close residents.  An incredible turnout which only goes to show the fierce resistance there is to these outrageous proposals.  Hats off to all who attended.  Also at the meeting was Staffs County Councillor Ian Parry who spoke against the proposal as did our Parish Councillors Joy Bennett, Linda McPherson and Andrew Lovatt. When it came to the crunch, the Council voted unanimously to oppose the application.

On Friday I received a letter from our local MP, Bill Cash, also putting his weight against the proposals. 

For the full text of Bill's letter please see below.

Letter from Bill Cash MP

Click on the image to view

What Happens Next

The Planning application has now been "called in" by Richard Oldfield, Stafford Borough Councillor for Fulford Ward .  This means that the application cannot be decided by planning officers on their own.  It must be referred to the Planning Committee which we can attend to voice our objections.

At the time of writing no date has been set.

Gallery

Here are a few photographs of Rough Close, including an early picture of the George & Dragon showing how little things have changed over the years.  Or maybe it's just me!  Anyway, this, as you all know, is what it looks like now:

 

And here is what it used to look like:

Not much difference is there?  And who would want to destroy our community's links with the past?

For those who are interested, here are a few more images of the village in former times.

Well sorry about that one.  At the top of the image it is, of course, The Swynnerton Arms!

Here's how it looks now:

Again, has much changed?

Past times.  

Another view of "The Swynnie"  but also showing what used to be the village shop, the village green and is that a bus?  And a policeman?  Some things do change!