How to Win Friends and Influence People

Events of the past week have reminded us of this timeless classic written in the 1930's and still in print today.  Described by The Times as the most successful self-help book of all time, it has sold literally millions of copies world-wide.  According to the fly-leaf, amongst the twelve things the book will do for you are:

• Increase your popularity
• Help you to win people to your way of thinking
• Help you  to avoid arguments and keep your human contacts smooth and pleasant

Now then, you may be wondering just what this has got to do with the pub and the planning application.  Well, on Friday, the owners submitted what we believe to be their first comments on the current situation.  Basically, they claim that our local councillors advised them that an application for eight houses rather than flats would be acceptable.  In summary, what the owners say flies pretty much in the face of what we already know of their meeting with councillors in October and attribute statements to them which are less than complementary.  

Not only have the owners succeeded in alienating the residents of Rough Close, they are now trying very hard to do the same with our politicians.  How to Win Friends and Influence People?  Hardly.  More like "hell have no fury ..."

Badgers, Bats and Politics

Well, according to the surveys commissioned by the owners, there are no signs at all of these (potentially) delightful creatures on the site of the George & Dragon.  We haven't read the surveys in full yet although if time permits we shall.   Staffordshire Wildlife Trust has intimated that the surveys might not actually have been that thorough and therefore we assume are not conclusive at this stage.  And of course, there is still the matter of other protected species of flora that have to be taken into consideration.

On another point, we learn that one of our Borough Councillors, Peter Roycroft, has expressed the view that at some point, we residents and the owners will have to reach a compromise over the number of properties to be developed on the site.  One of the difficulties facing the Planning Committee is that local authorities have targets to meet regarding new housing.  And Stafford BC is behind its target.

That said, we don't believe that this gives the Borough Council carte blanche when it comes to approving new developments.  The views of the local residents and requirements of the County Plan must be taken into consideration.  Most residents don't want any properties at all and, as we all know, nobody has actually asked us our views on the matter.  That is, of course,  apart from the Borough Council who have been inundated with letters of objection.  Parish Councillor Joy Bennett has gone on record as suggesting that the pub be redeveloped as a single property in keeping with the look and feel of the village.  We support this view assuming, of course, that it cannot be retained as a pub.  Whether this is realistic or not remains to be seen.

Do you have a view about this?  If so, leave a comment.  It will be totally anonymous if  you prefer.

  

The Letter

If, like us, you have received a letter from Stafford Borough Council dated 2nd February, you may be wondering what the "amendment" is all about and why there is no trace of an "amendment" on the BC Portal.  We have it on the very best authority that the term is used to refer to any  new material received on  the application rather than the usual meaning ie. that something has been altered in some way.

Anyway, the upshot of it is that the amendment consists of two surveys that the owners have commissioned, one into the presence, or not, of bats, the other is a badger survey.

With regard to the bats, their survey says that they found no evidence of the creatures in the pub (mind you we have seen some odd characters hanging around of late).  Likewise with the badgers.  The survey did not detect any setts on the site itself but there are a number within 35 metres.