Agenda item

The Council has received a Petition under its Petitions Scheme. With over 100 signatures the Petition qualifies for a Council debate. Members are therefore asked to request Officers to consider the issues raised as part of the Borough Plan process. 

38.1           Attention was drawn to the report of the Development Services Manager, circulated at Pages No. 23-36, which asked Members to request that Officers consider the issues raised within the petition as part of the Borough Plan process.  

38.2           The Mayor invited John Morrish, speaking as the petition organiser, to make his presentation to the Council. Mr Morrish explained that he had raised the petition to refuse building on the Green Belt land to the south of Two Hedges Road in Woodmancote. The petition had had limited exposure and he had really only targeted the people that would be directly affected but, even so, the feeling was strongly against any proposal to build on the land in question. He felt that, if he went further and targeted the whole of Woodmancote and Bishop’s Cleeve, he would have gained an even greater response. The main concerns in the area were about the Green Belt and particularly Cleeve Hill which was a huge tourist attraction for the area. The views from the Hill over Bishop’s Cleeve and Woodmancote showed just how vast the building in the area already was; it was his belief that Bishop’s Cleeve would soon be larger than Tewkesbury and urban sprawl was a huge concern. In addition, the petitioner was concerned about the infrastructure in Bishop’s Cleeve which was not really adequate for the size of the development that was taking place. There was also a worry about flooding which was a result of rain water coming off Cleeve Hill into the area; it was felt that further building at the base of the Hill would only serve to exacerbate the issue. Mr Morrish was of the view that, if development was allowed in that area, it would put a huge strain on Bishop’s Cleeve and he therefore felt it appropriate to refuse any prospect of building.

38.3           The Mayor thanked Mr Morrish for the information provided and invited the Deputy Chief Executive to introduce the report of the Development Services Group Manager. The Deputy Chief Executive indicated that the area in question was within the Green Belt so it already had a high protection value for that reason. The area was part of the wider site option process for the new Borough Plan and, as the Plan was still emerging, it was looking at lots of sites to see where development may be allowed. The Borough Plan had to wait until the Joint Core Strategy (JCS) had a firm direction of travel and then further consultation would take place.

38.4           During the discussion which ensued, a Member questioned whether the area being referred to had been put forward as a potential site in the Borough Plan and whether the Council was legally allowed to protect sites in the Green Belt. In response, the Deputy Chief Executive explained that the site had been put forward with a range of others to meet the need within the community. The Borough Plan would allocate sites following consultation. At this stage the Plan was just identifying all land that may be considered for development. In addition, the Borough Solicitor indicated that Green Belt designation was a very strong protection against development as very special circumstances would have to be shown to justify permitting development.

38.5           In response to a query regarding the specific land referred to, Members were advised that the area was shown on a map which was contained within the JCS labelled as ‘land to the south of Two Hedges Road’ and Cavendish Homes had produced a report on it.

38.6           It was proposed and seconded that the issues raised by the petition be considered as part of the Borough Plan process. It was felt that the Green Belt was protecting the land in that area and this should offer the petitioner some reassurance. A Member expressed concern that the JCS Inspector had suggested a Green Belt review could be put into place as part of the Borough Plan process which would mean the Green Belt designation could be removed and she was concerned that the information provided this evening could lead the petitioner to believe the land was safe purely because it was in the Green Belt which seemed to her not to be true. In response, the Chief Executive explained that there was a process for the development of the Borough Plan and this allowed for the consideration of specific sites. Currently the Borough Plan was at an early stage and the recommendation on the report asked Members to put the issues raised within the petition into that process for consideration. Should Members decide to take that route the petitioner would be kept appraised of the process as it moved along. He would also ensure a detailed answer was provided to the petitioner following the meeting in respect of what the Green Belt designation meant and how it could be removed.

38.7           Accordingly, it was

                  RESOLVED          That Officers consider the issues raised by the petition as part                                 of the Borough Plan process.