The City Council's Local Plan - update - TrustNews Dec 12
The ‘Examination in Public’ on the City Council’s Local Plan Part 1 took place in the Guildhall over two weeks last month. The Trust had made a number of detailed representations about the Plan and was invited by the Inspector to take part in discussions on particular topics which he chose. His role was to test the soundness of the Council’s policies and we were pleased to be involved in these sessions. The other participants were other residents’ groups, some parish councils and special interest organisations such as CPRE and the Wildlife Trust. A whole range of agents acting for would-be developers were also there to promote their clients’ interests. As an example the first question the Inspector asked on the Economy/Employment session was “Are the employment policies and proposals, including for Bushfield Camp, consistent with national policies and/or justified by clear and robust evidence”. Our answer was a resounding “No”. I made a somewhat flippant comment that the Policy as written could encourage a Super Casino at Bushfield. Reading it again I realise now that this really could be promoted if the policy is approved in its present form. It was interesting to hear conflicting evidence from rival commercial interests promoting alternatives for their clients’ land. A similar discussion took place on the other policies and proposals in the plan which the Inspector chose for examination, on sustainability, housing numbers, the threshold for affordable housing, the environment, nature conservation and infrastructure.
The local press only appeared for the opening session and then returned briefly on a couple of other days, so there was no press coverage of the Council’s alarming Bushfield proposals. There was also a noticeable lack of Councillors in attendance most of the time. I found it particularly surprising that not one of the 18 councillors representing Winchester Town was present, even for the discussions on housing numbers, affordable housing, Bushfield or Barton Farm.
The Inspector will now write his report and present this in January 2013. In the meantime the Council will now start its work on the “Local Plan Part 2”. This will put forward proposals for smaller sites and schemes following the principles established in the Part 1 Plan. A whole range of local consultations on this will start shortly and the Trust will again seek to take a constructive but, where necessary, a critical role in this process.