And here is the news...
Parking Matters 19th January 2015
As many people are aware, Wiltshire Council have had a public consultation about car parks, including those in Malmesbury, which ends today.
Information has been made available about Malmesbury's Car Parks and I feel strongly that residents should put forward their views when the opportunity arises such as here.
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So, I have made my own analysis of the figures (to the best of my mathematical abilities!) and have come up with alternative charging schemes.
As is often said, some suggestions may fly whilst others are not taken up. Mine is only one opinion I hope out of many submissions by local people and we will find out what action Wiltshire Council will be taking later on in the Spring. |
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Here it is below, if you want to have a look at it!
| parking_review_of_malmesbury_car_parks_final.pdf |
Holloway Hill - roadway repairs scheduled for March 2015!
On 5th November at the Wiltshire Council Area Board Meeting held in Malmesbury Secondary School (public are welcome to attend these meetings) Cllr John Thomson, Deputy Leader of Wiltshire Council gave us the great news that the highways work to Holloway is programmed for March 2015. This follows work with BT to sort out a drainage issue here as well.
This picture is of the top of the hill looking to where it finally curves round to the left into Cross Hayes and Town Centre and I think it is fair to say the road surface is not as bad as that further down the hill towards the Whychurch roundabout.
However whilst we all go about our daily lives currently bumping over the uneven tarmac in Holloway, (but not for much longer!) I wonder how many people actually look at the Town Walls as they travel past? Particularly the wall on the left in the above picture, which has stood there for hundreds of years. This is the site of the old medieval East Gate to the Town and the wall itself follows the line of a rampart of an Iron Age hillfort.
There is a wealth of information about the history of our town in the museum in the Town Hall. Admission is free and well worth a visit!
However whilst we all go about our daily lives currently bumping over the uneven tarmac in Holloway, (but not for much longer!) I wonder how many people actually look at the Town Walls as they travel past? Particularly the wall on the left in the above picture, which has stood there for hundreds of years. This is the site of the old medieval East Gate to the Town and the wall itself follows the line of a rampart of an Iron Age hillfort.
There is a wealth of information about the history of our town in the museum in the Town Hall. Admission is free and well worth a visit!
The Malmesbury Area Neighbourhood Plan Referendum 27th November 2014
It's for you to decide - Vote in the First Neighbourhood Planning Referendum in Wiltshire!
For more information see www.malmesburyneighbourhood.com
These
‘zones’ are an initiative of Wiltshire Council, Trading Standards and
are designed to help protect our older and more vulnerable residents.
Any COLD CALLING in a Zone Area is an offence and can be reported to
the Police.
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10 out of 10 for 10:10
Malmesbury Town Council Elections 2nd May 2013 The Results
A big Thank You! to all who voted for me, I really appreciate your support and also all the good wishes and messages I have received.
I am delighted to confirm that I have been re elected to Malmesbury Town Council for another term. I am also very pleased that all fellow 10:10 candidates have been elected. This means that we can now concentrate on turning our 10 aims into reality!
Here are, in descending order, the number of votes by candidate. Unfortunately the last four did not gain places on the Town Council.
KILLANE 993
DOODY 883
POWER 802
EXTON 765
COX 696
GUNDRY 673
SANDERSON 672
SHAPE 648
POOLE 611
SNELL 609
KETTLETY 607
PENFOLD 593
CATON 588
BUDGEN 568
BLAKE 537
WOODCOCK 535
JONES 524
HARVEY 498
DAVIS 425
VERNON 375
Vote 10:10 Malmesbury Town Council Elections on 2nd May 2013
10:10 is simply a group of 10 candidates who have got together because we realise we have 10 common aims. These are fairly basic really, such as addressing the rise in the Local Precept which five Councillors, including me voted against, local open public toilets... you can see the 10 aims on the election flyer. That said the 10 candidates are all independent and do have their own ideas and interests they want to pursue, but we all felt these 10 particular issues are important! If you vote in 10:10 then I can guarantee you will see some positive change!
10:10 is simply a group of 10 candidates who have got together because we realise we have 10 common aims. These are fairly basic really, such as addressing the rise in the Local Precept which five Councillors, including me voted against, local open public toilets... you can see the 10 aims on the election flyer. That said the 10 candidates are all independent and do have their own ideas and interests they want to pursue, but we all felt these 10 particular issues are important! If you vote in 10:10 then I can guarantee you will see some positive change!
Click on the leaflet to open larger readable version.
Click on the leaflet to open larger readable image.
Malmesbury Town Council Election - 2nd May 2013
Yes, I am standing for re election to Malmesbury Town Council on 2nd May. I have been a Councillor for what seems a very short 18 months and I feel that there is still so much to do, especially on the Neighbourhood Planning front and some basic and fundamental town issues such as the precept raise and lack of open public toilets!
I hope that what I have achieved so far means local residents will feel that they should vote for me, but I also know that there are 20 candidates standing for 16 places and we all have something to give the town!
Yes, I am standing for re election to Malmesbury Town Council on 2nd May. I have been a Councillor for what seems a very short 18 months and I feel that there is still so much to do, especially on the Neighbourhood Planning front and some basic and fundamental town issues such as the precept raise and lack of open public toilets!
I hope that what I have achieved so far means local residents will feel that they should vote for me, but I also know that there are 20 candidates standing for 16 places and we all have something to give the town!
Malmesbury's St.Georges Day Parade on 22nd April 2012
Each year on the nearest Sunday to St. George's Day, Scouting Groups in North Wiltshire gather together to process to a local church to give thanks for and to celebrate another year of Scouting. This year it's Malmesbury's turn to host this spectacular parade. This only happens once in around 10 years here, so it's not to be missed! 1st Malmesbury (King Athelstan) Scout Group was formed over a century ago and despite a few blips is still going strong today. For those interested in local history, below is an article I wrote for Wilts and Glos Standard (3/12/2009), with photographs of the first ever Malmesbury Scouts. Click on the picture to enlarge it.
Each year on the nearest Sunday to St. George's Day, Scouting Groups in North Wiltshire gather together to process to a local church to give thanks for and to celebrate another year of Scouting. This year it's Malmesbury's turn to host this spectacular parade. This only happens once in around 10 years here, so it's not to be missed! 1st Malmesbury (King Athelstan) Scout Group was formed over a century ago and despite a few blips is still going strong today. For those interested in local history, below is an article I wrote for Wilts and Glos Standard (3/12/2009), with photographs of the first ever Malmesbury Scouts. Click on the picture to enlarge it.
Housing Development Refused! 180 Houses Land South of Filands
21st March 2012
As the rules regarding planning are changing with the Government's Localism Bill Planning, some communities such as ours have been hit with proposals for large developments, two lots of housing, one supermarket and one superstore.
The 77 houses off Park Rd were refused planning permission (see below) and now Gleeson Strategic Land's outline planning application has also been refused.
Looking at the excellent presentation put on by The Malmesbury and St. Pauls Without Residents Association, I have to say I am relieved that it was refused. To a lay person, it seemed incredibly overcrowded, no social housing to speak of and I have serious concerns with the highways layout given the number of school children walking to and from school. The provision for a new school was mentioned in the outline plans, but is just the land where a school could be built. Our primary schools are at capacity. If these new houses were to be built there simply would not be adequate spaces for our children to go to school in Malmesbury.
The official reasons declared for refusal by Wiltshire Council, Planning Dept can be seen on their site ref: 11/04126/OUT Some of the deficiences raised could be solved by the developers, however yet again there is another reference to our Neighbourhood Plan, which as a Town we are progressing as Frontrunners. It may not seem like this, but we are making history here! Local people making the plan for their town, local people looking to work with developers to achieve new housing that they feel is appropriate for the place they live in! History in the making!
77 Houses Off Park Rd Appeal Rejected - 13th March 2012
Oh Yes! Another triumph for commonsense and a foot in the door for the Neighbourhood Plan! (See below 16th/17th Feb for details of the Appeal Hearing. If you want to read the official documents on Wiltshire Council's website, here is the link to ref 11/01382/OUT.
The excellent Planning Inspector, Jessica Graham gave a very fair response to the issues raised and made the right decision. Her Report ended with:
The overall planning balance
58. I have found that the Council can demonstrate an up-to-date five year supply
of deliverable housing sites. I have concluded that the increased pressure the
development would place on primary education infrastructure, and the
possibility that it would be premature in relation to the adoption of the
Neighbourhood Plan, would not in themselves amount to reasons to refuse
planning permission, but have found that the proposal would nevertheless
conflict with the housing objectives and spatial vision for the area.
59. Balancing these findings with all of the other relevant material
considerations, I conclude that the factors in favour of the proposal are
not of sufficient combined weight to overcome the development plan policy
presumption against development in the countryside. Planning permission
should not,therefore, be granted.
Neighbourhood Planning Steering Group - 13th March 2012
Delighted to announce that I am now Malmesbury Town Council's representative on the Neighbourhood Planning Steering Group! (No yawning peeps!) This is significant because on the 15th March, we heard that the 77 houses off Park Rd appeal had been DISMISSED! And taken into account was the fact that we are working on our Neighbourhood Plan! This plan will allow us to have some influence on what is built in the town right from the beginning, including location, design etc- we have never had this before!
36 Gloucester Rd, Malmesbury Refused - 22nd Feb 2012
This double fronted shop is the middle one of three in the small row facing onto the side of Birdcage Walk and the Abbey grounds. It has been standing empty now for a considerable length of time, boarded up forlorn and unsightly.
Approval was sought from Wiltshire Council, Planning Department to turn the shop into residential flats. Ref 11/02441/FUL
Despite being only a minutes walk from the Market Cross and facing onto the Abbey, it was said that no one had wanted to rent or buy the shop for a considerable length of time and therefore 'change of use' was justified.
The question was raised as to why it was unlet or unsold given it's good location and that a very successful shop of a similar size was trading next door. Was the the rent and sale price something to do with? It was also pointed out that by making the middle shop in a row of three residential meant that footfall to the other two shops would be reduced and in times when we are trying to support our 'High St', did it make sense to allow this shop to be turned into residential accomodation?
In the end Wiltshire Councillors took the decision to refuse the change of use as follows:
The proposed development would result in the unacceptable loss of a retail premises within the secondary retail frontage in a prominent location within the centre of Malmesbury. The loss of premises would be to the detriment of the vitality and viability of Malmesbury Town Centre and its future vitality and viability. Insufficient information has been provided to demonstrate that the property has been marketed sufficiently robustly in an attempt to secure a retail use at the premises. The proposal is contrary to Policies C3, R2 and R6 of the adopted North Wiltshire Local Plan 2011 as well as the strategy and objectives of the Wiltshire Core Strategy Pre-Submission Draft February 2012.
To me this was a sensible decision. We have to support small business in town in order to keep our local economy vibrant and we can't do that by losing our shops.
77 Houses Off Park Rd Appeal Hearing - 16th & 17th Feb 2012
This planning application 11/01382/OUT was refused last year by Wiltshire Council. Here are the main objections for refusal (paraphrased):
- The development was outside the boundary line as per The North Wiltshire Local Plan 2011.
- It was premature to the development of the Wiltshire Council's Development Framework, Wiltshire Core Strategy and Malmesbury's Neighbourhood Plan including provision for school spaces, affordable housing and other town infrastructure.
The Hearing
This was my first time at a hearing and it was very similar to a court case type hearing that you see on the TV, although definitely not as dramatic and with a lot less people!
Several residents, Councillors and The Residents Association spoke at the hearing (including me!) to object to the development.
The developers (known as the Apellant) put the case that Wiltshire Council could not demonstrate a plan for a 5 year supply of new housing as required by law. There were other points too, but a main one was that developers only need to give a sum of money to the Council towards education, even though Malmesbury actually needs new classrooms or infact a new school to cope with any more new additions to the town.
We were told that the Inspector will also be visiting the site and Malmesbury Town, before making her decision.
Community and Neighbourhood Plan
Over 140 people voiced there objection to this development- zero in favour, because of the 'policy' decisions as mentioned previously and also the flooding, highways, parking, Brokenborough and town access, greenfield site and AONB issues. To me this represents the community saying NO, it's in the wrong location and these other issues are not being addressed.
We have all heard of the Eric Pickle's new Localism Bill going through Parliament, which says that local people should have more say as to what happens to their community, especially with regards to development and the like. This is what our Neighbourhood Plan will be. It's already being worked on here in Malmesbury. Wiltshire Council defending the refusal said that the community having their say was an important element of their refusing permission, as our Neighbourhood Plan isn't yet in place because the Government are just rolling out these new policies and laws.
End Game
In my opinion, if this appeal is allowed and the developer is given permission to build these houses, it would make a complete mockery of what the government is trying to do! Wiltshire Council's strategy is that we need to build a further 220 houses by the year 2026. With this development and Gleeson's proposal for 180 - What would be the point of having a Neighbourhood Plan and Forum?
Is it a co incidence that two supermarkets and potentially three housing developers are all trying to get permission to build during this change over of law? I don't think so! I believe it's happening elsewhere in the country too and these opportunists are taking advantage of the changeover in law.
So, it was indicated that we should hear the outcome around the end of March. Fingers crossed that the right decision is made... watch this space!
To read my contribution to the Hearing click here!
N.B. The thoughts and words written here on this website are my own opinions. I do not have any specialist training and am not an accredited 'professional' at anything.
