It's no longer just the undue weight given to traffic assessments that has me exercised now; I'm also deeply concerned about the way residents' comments are presented. Here's an example of what I mean:
We recently had a planning application for 150 homes, to straddle the boundary between Hart and Rushmoor, and the vast majority of the many respondents to the consultation were broadly in favour, although almost all were vehemently opposed to the current proposal because of the access point for the development, right beside a junior school on a very busy and entirely inadequate residential road. But because they had made some positive remarks about the development as well as some negative ones, they have been deemed 'Neutral', which, given the vehemence of their opposition to the access point is clearly ridiculous.
I only hope that the members of the Development Control Committee read all the comments carefully, rather than simply noting whether they are in favour, opposed, or neutral, because those designations give an entirely misleading view of local opinion.
Looking to the future, I believe there should be a means by which respondents to planning consultations should be given the opportunity to indicate for themselves how their comments should be interpreted, rather than a planning officer making that determination.
Thinking about what I've learned about the planning system, I think it's high time there was a thorough review of the whole thing if the idea of 'localism' is the have any meaning, because, as things stand, the public seems absolutely impotent to influence something that can have life-changing effects.
Tuesday 8 July 2014
Summer Nights
How I pray for rain these warm summer nights. Why? So that I can get to sleep, that's why.
Throughout the summer, when it's absolutely essential to have my bedroom windows open, Cove Green, which is adjacent to my house, is a popular spot for young people to gather, often until the early hours of the morning, and often with alcohol to drink. As the evening draws on, and the ambient noise fades away, the noise levels from these young people increase at exactly the same time that people in nearby houses begin to turn in. We find ourselves trying to go to sleep to the sound of shouting, swearing and, worst of all, girlie squealing. Why must they do that? I don't think this is anything more than thoughtlessness, but lack of sleep is making me pretty cranky, and there's a long way to go before the merciful relief of winter.
And while I'm on the subject of Cove Green, why must people leave litter all over the place? Even when they're sitting just a few feet from a bin, they simply get up and walk away from their mess. No wonder we have such a problem with rats. Rushmoor Borough Council is fantastic at cleaning up, arriving really early in the morning and leaving the green spotless, but they really shouldn't have such a huge task on summer mornings. We must somehow bring about a change in attitudes, but that's going to be a challenge. One suggestion I've put forward is that sports teams using council grounds be required to ask their players to do a litter-pick after each game. I'm hoping that when young sports fans see players they admire taking a lead in cleaning up, they might change their attitudes. One can but hope.
Throughout the summer, when it's absolutely essential to have my bedroom windows open, Cove Green, which is adjacent to my house, is a popular spot for young people to gather, often until the early hours of the morning, and often with alcohol to drink. As the evening draws on, and the ambient noise fades away, the noise levels from these young people increase at exactly the same time that people in nearby houses begin to turn in. We find ourselves trying to go to sleep to the sound of shouting, swearing and, worst of all, girlie squealing. Why must they do that? I don't think this is anything more than thoughtlessness, but lack of sleep is making me pretty cranky, and there's a long way to go before the merciful relief of winter.
And while I'm on the subject of Cove Green, why must people leave litter all over the place? Even when they're sitting just a few feet from a bin, they simply get up and walk away from their mess. No wonder we have such a problem with rats. Rushmoor Borough Council is fantastic at cleaning up, arriving really early in the morning and leaving the green spotless, but they really shouldn't have such a huge task on summer mornings. We must somehow bring about a change in attitudes, but that's going to be a challenge. One suggestion I've put forward is that sports teams using council grounds be required to ask their players to do a litter-pick after each game. I'm hoping that when young sports fans see players they admire taking a lead in cleaning up, they might change their attitudes. One can but hope.
Friday 28 February 2014
Traffic Reports and Planning
I had given up on my blog because I was finding it too time-consuming, but I'm taking it up again because I am really angry. And unlike my previous posts, this is political!
Several times in recent years, planning applications for developments that will affect my ward have needed my attention. Each time, I diligently read all the documents, talk to residents and planning officers and draw on my local knowledge to decide my response. Each time, I have chosen to oppose the application for a variety of reasons, one of which is traffic. And each time, it has been traffic that has been the deciding factor when the application came before the Development Control Committee, and the applications have been approved almost entirely on the strength of the traffic reports.
A great deal of weight is given to traffic reports, to the extent that no amount of opposition from local residents has any affect at all.
These reports are produced using computer models and based on surveys carried out over time and at various locations. All very logical. But how accurate are these computer models? Can we trust them?
I recently had a meeting with three officers charged with drawing up such a report and I asked them whether, once a development was completed, they went back in a year, and perhaps five years, to conduct exactly the same surveys, so that they could determine whether their predictions had been accurate. Apparently not. Yet, until they do exactly that, how can they, or anyone else, have any confidence in these reports that planning departments afford so much weight.
In my opinion, this is completely unacceptable and makes a nonsense of 'localism'. We should all be demanding a thorough review of the planning process, with regard to traffic, and locally I intend doing exactly that. If the Localism Act is to mean anything, we must challenge this sort of tyranny.
Several times in recent years, planning applications for developments that will affect my ward have needed my attention. Each time, I diligently read all the documents, talk to residents and planning officers and draw on my local knowledge to decide my response. Each time, I have chosen to oppose the application for a variety of reasons, one of which is traffic. And each time, it has been traffic that has been the deciding factor when the application came before the Development Control Committee, and the applications have been approved almost entirely on the strength of the traffic reports.
A great deal of weight is given to traffic reports, to the extent that no amount of opposition from local residents has any affect at all.
These reports are produced using computer models and based on surveys carried out over time and at various locations. All very logical. But how accurate are these computer models? Can we trust them?
I recently had a meeting with three officers charged with drawing up such a report and I asked them whether, once a development was completed, they went back in a year, and perhaps five years, to conduct exactly the same surveys, so that they could determine whether their predictions had been accurate. Apparently not. Yet, until they do exactly that, how can they, or anyone else, have any confidence in these reports that planning departments afford so much weight.
In my opinion, this is completely unacceptable and makes a nonsense of 'localism'. We should all be demanding a thorough review of the planning process, with regard to traffic, and locally I intend doing exactly that. If the Localism Act is to mean anything, we must challenge this sort of tyranny.
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