More Planning Concerns

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.

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.

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.

Twinning Association Trip to Meudon

I visited our French twin town, Meudon, for the first time recently, with the Twinning Association of Rushmoor. For some reason, I'd got it into my head that it was an industrial town, perhaps because it became our twin town as a result of its place in the development of the Concorde, so I was expecting something not dissimilar to Farnborough. It was a delightful surprise to discover a very handsome town with incredible views of Paris. And the people I met were lovely, really friendly and helpful.

We had expected to participate in Meudon's annual Christmas Fair, which takes place in the gardens outside the Orangerie, where we sell British Christmas fare to raise money so that less fortunate young people can have opportunities to travel to our twin towns to participate in cultural activities. But the Christmas Fair was cancelled because the Orangerie is being renovated. This was a disaster because we had already booked our hotel, Channel Tunnel, mini-bus, etc, but the kind people took pity on us and arranged stalls at a variety of places around the town instead, including two local markets. This turned out to be so successful that we quickly sold out, and could in fact have sold twice as much merchanise.

Also there at the same time were a very talented student jazz band from Farnborough Sixth Form College, and I was invited to join them for a tour of Rodin's house and also of Marcel Dupre's former home, the site of probably the most important organ in Europe. The band proved a popular draw when they played where we were selling, which I'm sure contributed to our success.

On the Saturday evening, we were invited to a rather grand dinner at the Standard Athletic Club, popular with ex-pats ever since its creation by the Brits who helped to build the Eifel Tower. It was a great honour to be included, and I met some truly delightful people.

The whole trip took four days, with two days of travel, and I was exhausted when we got back. But I had to immediately head off to a lengthy governors' meeting at Cove School. Still, I'd do it again. It's a very good cause that really deserves our support.

Mayoress' Charity Fashion Show

By anyone's standards I'm hardly model material, but even so I recently found myself parading down the catwalk in aid of the Mayor's Charities, one of which is Parity for Disability. It had been a huge commitment time-wise, and I felt an absolute twerp when rehearsals began, but largely thanks to the terrific group of students from Farnborough Sixth Form College who were also models, I did manage to have fun, in spite of myself.

Two other Rushmoor Councillors, David Clifford and Sue Carter, took part, as well as the Mayor, David hamming it up shamelessly and Sue bringing the house down by wearing a onesy in the final set. I played things straight, having bottled out of wearing the meringue of a bridal gown assigned to me. Honestly, at my time of life...

It was pretty brutal backstage, with everyone struggling to manage their changes while various performers trouped through the already crowded dressing room. Still, largely due to Jill Shuttleworth and Alison Boukhobza, it all went off remarkably smoothly. Except, that is, for Eileen Hicks taking a tumble off the stage in the darkness. Fortunately, she wasn't seriously hurt. Quite apart from the lighting, the sections of the stage had come apart during the earlier Fijjian dancing and it was lucky that nobody else came to grief.

Norma, the Mayoress, put an incredible amount of work into the proceedings, in addition to her civic duties, and the staff at the Princes Hall were marvellous. And, on the night, the students set up a display of their own designs that was very impressive.

I've yet to hear how much money was raised, though it was probably disappointing because ticket sales were low. Still, those who came clearly enjoyed themselves enormously, and any money raised is always welcome.

Spinnaker Tower Abseil

Last Sunday I did something very uncharacteristic. I abseiled down the Spinnaker Tower, in Portsmouth, in aid of Parity for Disability. The descent was 100 metres and took an eternity, during which I kept my eyes firmly on the wall in front of me. It was scary, but I was confident that I was in good hands. I knew they wouldn’t let anything dreadful happen to me.

I felt a great sense of achievement afterwards, and was particularly pleased that three of my grandchildren had seen me do it. My colleagues on Rushmoor Borough Council, Jacqui Vosper and Sue Carter, also came along to support me, as well as the Hampshire County Councillor for my ward, Carol Leversha.

Going up the tower in the lift felt a little surreal. Was I really going through with this? I, who have been a devout coward my entire life? We stepped out onto the lower viewing platform and were shepherded into a roped-off area where we were kitted out. I allowed myself to take in the stunning views, though I was careful to out and not down.

Trussed up like turkeys, the Parity team of seven were guided down a flight of steps to the crow’s nest from which we would begin our descent. It felt like I was going to my execution, with no possibility of escape. After our briefing, the first of our team stepped out. I came second, and was to take a different route down, to the left of the crow’s nest.

Following a few further instructions, I stepped over the fence onto a narrow ledge, then sat down and let my harness take my weight. My instructor took a photo and then I was on my way. I was asked to stop after a few metres for another photo from above, then it was just a question of concentrating on feeding my rope up and guiding my feet, which kept hitting small metal boxes set into the wall. Very annoying. I was coming down in a corner, which was tricky. I tried placing my feet on both walls, but that didn’t feel right, so I came down on one wall and just had to put up with the obstruction of the boxes. My only thought was to get down as soon as possible.

There were plenty of supporters from Parity, including two students, and it felt wonderful that I had actually done something substantive for the charity. It’s all well and good attending board meetings, etc, but this was the first fundraising exploit I had done since becoming a trustee.

We then had a long wait before our final member, Kelvin Smith, made his descent. Kelvin, also a trustee, has cerebral palsy, so special arrangements had to be made for him, hence the delay. Unfortunately, by the time Kelvin came down the weather had taken a turn for the worse and he endured squalling winds and torrential rain. I shall definitely be sponsoring him because he’s one of the bravest people I know, and one of the nicest.

I hope to raise £2000, and welcome donations via Just Giving:

 http://www.justgiving.com/Barbara-Hurst

St John's Church Community Woodland Garden

I had the great honour of cutting the ribbon to open the new Community Woodland Garden at St John’s Church, Farnborough, recently. After heavy rain in the morning, the sun came out, so the hundred or so people who came along had a very nice afternoon to explore the garden, its interpretation board, the nature trail through the churchyard and especially the tea and cakes. As the lady who handed me a large slice of delicious coffee cake told me, St John’s is a church than functions on cake.

Esther Prior, the Vicar of St John’s, invited me to open the garden because it was my telling her about the community fruit trees that The Farnborough Society planted, with the help of Rushmoor Borough Council, that set her thinking about how the Church’s glebe land might be used for the benefit of the whole community. Initially, we hoped to establish a community orchard, letting our imagination run away with thoughts of Mothering Sunday and Easter among the blossom and fresh fruit for Harvest Festival. However, the many mature trees and dense undergrowth made such scheme impossible, and so the woodland garden was conceived.

Rushmoor BC was incredibly helpful in directing us towards funding, arranging for work by the Community Payback scheme and offering by advice. Fawn’s, a local company that makes playground equipment, donated picnic tables. Lots of volunteers, most notably the Second Cove Sea Scouts, gave their time and effort, and above all Esther and her husband Matt worked tirelessly and relentlessly to make the dream come true.

I believe that modern life makes places of solace and contemplation absolutely essential, though sadly there seem to be fewer and fewer such places. The large turnout suggests that the people of St John’s Ward appreciate the value of what Esther and Matt have created, and I hope the garden will be very well used. I will make a special point of visiting when the bluebells are out in the spring.