Council planning software doesn't work properly

The software which is widely used by local authorities is not working properly with IE 8 or IE 7, come to that Safari, so I suppose, the other browsers as well. See screenshot below

If one clicks on "Submit Comments" one is presented with a Property Search window. One has to click on the "Associated documents" tab then select "View associated documents" and then select "Comment on application"  Residents trying to comment on the Aroona planning application have had considerable difficulty doing so. I have used three desktop PCs to check on whether it is just my problem but with the same results. This is a software issue as both Wiltshire and B&NES planning portals which use the same software respond in the same way.

I emailed Idox the software company early in January and have not had an answer yet. The situation is worse now (February 6th) as all the documents have disappeared -restored later. The Bath Chronicle has picked up the story, in relation to an application to erect a phone mast at Twerton.

Recently a hoarding was erected at Freshford Mill. I thought that planning permission had to be sought to do this? However as confirmed by the mock-up the hoarding shows what we feared most. That is that the new buildings will have little in common with the older buildings and with any houses in Freshford which are made almost exclusively of local stone.

The artist's rendition does not show the fact that the buildings will be raised three metres above the existing ground level to give a measure of protection against floods. These new buildings should be made of local stone and we do not see any justification for approving this development as it is currently proposed. These buildings look more like a development in Essex.

I understand that the landscape by Freshford Mill bridge is going to be altered by the removal of trees to allow a new telephone line together with poles to be connected to the new development. When Peradins owned the mill site the telephone line was further up Rosemary lane and I don't see any goood reason why the line can't be restored to where it used to be. What I can imagine is a disturbance that could effect the beauty of this part of the river Frome landscape. The two photographs below show the existing beauty of the landscape.

The view up the river Frome from Freshford Mill bridge, which is an Ancient Monument, in July 2008. The view is not marred by telephone lines. Telephone lines are just one of the blights on the landscape of today.

The view down Rosemary lane near Freshford Mill bridge. The view is not marred at present (July 2008) by telephone lines and poles.

I have been to the Freshford Fete today.  I suppose I was not surprised to learn that Ypres Rose the developer is generously supporting the fete. However, I saw a reminder that the new build would consist of buildings that in my opinion are not appropriate to this area of the country. The predominent building material in Somerset and Wiltshire is stone. So why are Ypres Rose allowed to build houses made of brick and block rendered walls and cedar cladding. Cedar cladding is quite popular in the United States as it is a cheap durable material. It is used on quality garden sheds but is hardly appropriate in the South West of England. The photograph below is of a garage in Sharpstone. I consider this building, even though it is a garage to be a fine building which is in harmony with its environment. It is not only a great pity that the buildings which I consider to be inferior in design at Freshford Mill have been approved by planning it also raises questions about the planning process.

I shall also post a DVD containing the ten videos to Planning.

I have published my comments on the planning application below:

Although a Wilsthire resident I live closer to Freshford village centre than to Westwood. To save fuel I would prefer to shop in Freshford as it is only a short walk away. The proposed application does provide parking for those who need to do more shopping and who are dropping off or collecting children from the school. This will reduce the congestion along Freshford Lane.  As the proposed shop is located adjoining the Freshford Memorial Hall and is close to a children's playground the shop will foster community relations and reduce the risk to children from traffic. I don't think that the location  of the shop would detract from the appearance of the neighbourhood.

Now that Freshford Mill is back on the market for any would-be developer to make a profit from building houses, nothing intrinsically wrong with that, except that in this case, the houses are not needed, it is time to review the alternative plan for the site. I have published the argument on the Freshford Mill web site Alternative Plan for Freshford Mill  and there is also a letter on the Letter to the Prime Minister's website: Planning Permission . .. . which my company also hosts.

I still agree that it is a desirable plan and had been approved back in February 2005. However I would like to add that in addition to the recreational features of the plan a working mill to generate electrical power for the village should be considered.  There are other mills along the Frome river that have been restored to use or will be shortly.  The mill at Tellisford which is no more than a decent walk up river is a prime example of what can be achieved. EDF provide grants and a news item from the press room of EDF on Tellisford Mill can be read here. Tellisford Mill

A working mill would not only bring much needed and increasingly expensive electrical power to the village but would also add to the educational value of the plan.

The problem is where does the money come from to buy the site? We can't exactly have a whip round! But the alternative plan is one that deserves financial support.  On the Freshford Mill website I have argued that the village of Freshford and its unique location in the Limpley Stoke valley where the river Frome meets the Avon, amidst wooded steep hills, is a particularly attractive part of the country that we are privileged to live in and have a  duty to protect.  There are so many other parts of the country that are by contrast bleak and desolate. I am aware that this is the case but the public does not realise this, after all who wants to photograph such places? There is a website "Crap Towns" or rather series of books, that does try to address the issue of poor planning and local indifference.Crap Towns (I don't like that word either!) is a good starting place.

Money should be available to help remove eyesores like Peradins. The money should not have to come from developers as then developers will ignore similar development land to Freshford Mill and seek green field sites (which is what they are doing) or be unable to provide the quality of building that is appropriate. Government should, therefore, be willing to assist with off-setting the initial costs of site restoration. This is an issue that would-be Freshford Mill developers face, although in this case the Peridins site should not have been given planning consent to create a new settlement in a flood plain in the first place! (this issue is still being investigated)

With that planning consent the value of the land shot up. Now perhaps it will dwindle, but to buy the site for the Rural Recreational Area, Nature Sanctuary and Workshops project,  money will have to be found.  The trouble is that Freshford and its surrounding villages is considered to be populated by "well to do" people and the government tends to "throw money" into projects that are only located in deprived and run down areas. In our case, we need to argue that in this area of the countryside (Somerset and Wiltshire), both the land and the built environment provide an area where people can come to relax and recuperate for a modest outlay in terms of transport or fuel. Money spent here is actually beneficial to those who live in run-down areas, as it provides an opportunity to spend some prime time in the countryside. The value of which Prince Charles has alluded to in his book a  A Vision of Britain  It should be remembered that Freshford is but a decent cycle ride from the World Heritage City of Bath and is a place where both visitors from overseas and Bath citizens can come to enjoy the beauty of the existing English countryside (a lot of it has gone, and will go) Freshford is also accessible from Bristol, which is one of the most densely populated cities in Britain and whose citizens surely deserve a range of places in which to unwind.

Properly managed, and with a working mill, Freshford Mill could provide a wonderful day out for children not only from the cities of Bath, Bristol and the towns that are close to the Avon and Frome valleys but all the other children that live in Somerset, Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire. I can imagine even steam trains being employed (at sensible prices!) Mind you we would need a Mcdonalds or KFC or a special menu down The Inn!

Quite remarkable news Ypres Rose has put the development up for sale at:  Land4Developers Strange but this link no longer works -one has to subscribe to view the details of the sale.

I have received the following email indirectly from Stuart Campbell the chairman of Freshford Parish Council. The email is of importance to Freshford residents who happen to reside in Wiltshire rather than BANES and is therefore published here:

Subject: Planning Representation of Residents in Counties Bordering Freshford.

If someone lives in Wiltshire  and is interested in commenting on a B&NES application , then I suppose that they can comment direct to B&NES, but should also ask their district councillor to contact B&NES and support their view. This would certainly be more powerful than expecting B&NES officers to place adequate weight on non-resident comment.

This is a personal view and I think any Wilts resident would be well advised to ask their councillor how to comment effectively to a bordering unitary authority. They could also contact  their PC  as we refer bordering applications to them (And vice versa), normally in our case to Limpley Stoke and there is nothing to stop a PC in Wilts commenting to B&NES either directly or through us. This happened with the Mill (Westwood PC) but I have no idea how much weight was given to such comments.

Hope this is helpful.

Stuart Campbell

There are number of observations that I am thinking about here. I am going to number them to facilitate discussion, but before I do so there aren't any counties bordering Freshford as parts of Freshford are in more than one county. Unless Freshford is a village that is by definition only in B&NES?

1. First there is the notion of where someone who considers themselves a resident of Freshford lives and the effect that may have on planning decisions. I live a little nearer to the centre of Freshford than Stuart, yet I live in Wiltshire. My postal address is Freshford, Bath etc. My daughter and her family live a few hundred yards from Freshford school where my grandchildren are being educated. Is my daughter and her family not residents of Freshford?

Because we live in Wiltshire does that mean that BANES planning may place lesser weight on our responses to planning applications than people who live in BANES and possibly on the outskirts of Freshford.

2. A village is by definition "a very small town in a country area"  whereas a town is by definition a "place with many houses, shops/stores, etc. where people live and work. It is larger than a village but smaller than a city." Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary 7th edition 2005. I think everyone will agree that Freshford is a village. The word "village" is also from Old French and from Latin and refers to belonging to a country house eg. a manor house.

3. Freshford has hamlets: Sharpstone, Park Corner, Woodside, and Staples Hill. The buildings in Staples Hill are less than 80 feet from the county boundary between Wiltshire and Bath and North East Somerset. are we seriously to believe that the planners in the Unitary authority of B&NES will regard and have regarded comments on planning applications from Wiltshire residents as of being of lesser importance than those of rsidents who live in B&NES?

4. Stuart Campbell has been chairman of Freshford Parish Council for many years and should be better acquainted with the manner in which planning decisons are made. Yet although the BBC provides a guide to running a parish council and to taking part in one's local community it does not provide such guidance and the government does not either, or if it does it is not found easily using a Google search.

5. If it is the case that residents of a village that are also residents of another county have a lesser say in the  decisions that are made in that village, in this case Freshford Somerset then what may we say about the rights of the former Head of Planning at B&NES Ludek Majer a Czech national? to make major decisions about planning that affect Freshford and surrounding countryside?

6. I can understand Stuart making observations about the planning process that affects us as the complete fiasco of Freshford Mill must have shaken his faith in local democracy. How can it be that such a decision can be made, in spite of the depth of feeling against the development. The planners went entirely against the wishes of the residents of this village whether they reside in B&NES or Wiltshire.

7. It is an anachronism that such concepts of residency should be based on arbitary boundaries that have no or little relevance to the 21st Century and the environmental problems that we face.

8. I suspect that discrimination based on which side of a boundary one lives on is against the European Charter to Safegard Human Rights in Cities as such descrimination is breaking the Principal of Proximity. Or of course maybe that Right is not applicable to villages?

9. Another observation I would like to make is that I don't expect my local parish council (Westwood) to support my views, why should they? They might disagree with my views. All B&NES planning has to do to consider whether a citizen's opinion on a proposal is to be considered with greater care or not is look at a map. Indeed, on the contrary, what if the opinion on a proposal came from an eminent authority who is not a resident? Often a parish council may commision a report from some expert to support objections to a planning application. Or is this just a case of being snowed under with paperwork, otherwise, why can't any Tom Dick or Harry submit their opinion on a proposal. What should count is the veracity of the argument, for or against the proposal, not whether the objector lives here or there. This does not diminish the argument of someone who because of where they live will be more affected by planning being approved or not, as the veracity of their argument may be greater because they perceive the effects of the planning application if its approved or rejected.