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26 July 2010	A Press release was sent to the Echo, Radio Gloucestershire etc about LEGLAG stall at Paws in the Park in Burrows Field on Sunday August 1st, and announcing launch of a Petition to save the ‘Leckhampton White Land’. Keep an eye (and an ear) open for press and radio announcements about the Petition.
24 July 2010	LEGLAG is featured in two recent interviews in Leckhampton Online: one with the Chairman of LEGLAG, Kit Braunholtz, and another with Cheltenham MP, Martin Horwood. Click on a name to see the video of the interview.
5 July 2010	Acting in concert with many other groups in the "Save Our Green Spaces" alliance, LEGLAG sent a letter to Eric Pickles, the new Minister for Communities and Local Government. We hope to get a reply soon, which we shall also publish on "Latest News"
21 June 2010	LEGLAG has been officially told that the Planning Inquiry (previously scheduled for October) into the proposed development at Brizen Farm has been cancelled, because the developers have withdrawn their appeal. This is excellent news! For the moment, Brizen Farm is safe. But these prospective developers (and others) will probably try again when they think the wind is blowing in their direction - so we must keep alert, and also keep working to influence the Planning Officers and Councillors who are in the process of creating the Joint Core Strategy (joint between Cheltenham, Tewkesbury and Gloucester) to make the right decisions, because this Strategy, when completed and in force, will determine which large housing developments will get planning permission in this part of Glucestershire. We are already engaging in "Stakeholder Consultations" with them, and will continue to do so. Influencing public opinion is also important - and all LEGLAG members can help with this! Talk to your friends and neighbours, or write a letter to your Councillor or to the Echo!
28 May 2010	We have just received the following very good news from the Right Hon Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. "I am writing to you to highlight our commitment in the Coalition agreements where we very clearly set out our intention to rapidly abolish Regional Strategies and return decision making powers on housing and planning to local councils. Consequently, decisions on housing supply (including the provision of travellers' sites) will rest with the local planning authorities without the framework of Regional numbers and plans. I will make a formal announcement on this matter soon, but I expect local planning authorities and the planning inspectorate to have regard to this letter as a material planning consideration in any decisions they are currently making." We will continue to keep you informed of what is happening locally, Kit Braunholtz, Chairman
18 April 2010	As the election approaches, don't be fooled when the candidates say that they will defend the Green Belt. This plays right into the hands of those who want to develop in the land between Leckhampton and Shurdington. Those who are promoting the preservation of the Green Belt know that, by keeping the Green Belt as it is, the planners and developers attention is diverted - to our disadvantage. Some years ago, our local politicians decided that this area should not be Green Belt. What we need is a review of the Green Belt and the designation of much of the land between Leckhampton and Shurdington to be Green Belt. We need our elected representatives to be committed to this end.
13 April 2010	2118165 - Brizen Farm Public Inquiry Date - Re: 350 Dwellings + Park & Ride proposal. The Planning Inspectorate has confirmed that the rescheduled Brizen Inquiry will be postponed until the last two weeks of October, 2010. This is really good news. By then, the planning situation should be much clearer, and we hope that the Regional Spatial Strategy will either have been cancelled or had its housing target drastically reduced. Much nearer the date, we will write to you again. At that time, we will ask if any members would be able to attend the beginning of the Inquiry at TBC Council Offices in Tewkesbury and hold placards outside, protesting at this proposed development. Leglag will be asking the Inspector to hold one of the sessions on an evening, at a local hall, close to the proposed building area, so that local residents can have their say. Kit Braunholtz - Chairman Leglag.
March 2010	S O G S and S T C During the past year we supported the Save Our Green Spaces campaign because it was against the Regional Spatial Strategy. We paid for a large number of their postcards advertising SOGS and distributed them locally. Campaigners claim that a court ruling will "ground Bristol Airport expansion plans." Similarly, we have supported Save The Countryside in opposing development in the Swindon village / Uckington area. Landowners have indicated that they may not allow their land to be sold for development. Although allowing this development could relieve pressure on Leckhampton, we have to hope that STC's well organised campaign may also help ours.
February 2010	Planning Inquiry on Brizen Farm Application The prospective developers at Brizen Farm (who want to build 350 houses there) have appealed against the failure of Tewkesbury Borough Council to determine their planning application. As a result there will be a planning Inquiry at which an Inspector will consider the arguments and report his conclusions to the Secretary of State, who will make the decision. The Planning Inquiry will be held on May 11-14 and May 20-21. LEGLAG has applied for Rule 6 status at the Inquiry, which will give us more opportunity to state our case – we are of course opposed to this proposal for many reasons. LEGLAG has already submitted a statement of objection, but will have to supply further “proofs of evidence” ahead of the Inquiry. Apart from the many substantive arguments against this application, we believe there is an overwhelming case against giving planning permission to any large development while the planning framework (the RSS and the JCS) is so uncertain and incomplete.
December 2009	Responding to the JCS Consultation ‘Issues and Key Questions’ Introduction The three local Councils, Cheltenham Borough, Gloucester City, and Tewkesbury Borough have agreed to work together to create policies to guide the development of infrastructure, employment, housing and much else in their combined areas in the next 20 years. They call this partnership the ‘Joint Core Strategy’, and have just issued a consultation paper ‘Issues and Key Questions’ which asks people living in the area for their views. A response is required before the end of January 2010. The views submitted by the public will influence the JCS team in their choice of policies, so this consultation is important. The consultation paper is long and detailed (80 pages), and many people may not have time to read it all. This 3-page guide has been written to help LEGLAG members and others who wish to read parts of the ‘Issues and Key Questions’ paper and to respond in more detail than in the sample letter in the flyer ‘STOP THE THREAT TO LECKHAMPTON’ which LEGLAG will be distributing in the New Year and which is also available on this web site. This guide gives views about responding agreed by a majority of the LEGLAG committee. (One way of using this guide is to print it out and then use the printed guide to help you navigate around the computer file, thus avoiding printing out all 80 pages) You should first read the Forward, and pages 1-13 of the ‘Issues and Key Questions’ paper, which can be found by googling ‘gct-jcs’ and following the links on the JCS home page. The paper is also available in local libraries. You may wish to comment on the JCS ‘Spatial Portrait’ of our area on pages 9 ‘ 13. LEGLAG thinks the spatial portrait is on the whole reasonably balanced, but we believe that some mention should be made (in para 3.25) of the dominant contribution that the Cotswold escarpment makes to the landscape of our area. Protection of this landscape feature is very important to the future of our area. The proposed Key Issues for the JCS process (pages 1-14) LEGLAG believes that the forecast expansion of economic activity and population in the latest version of the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) is far too high. The RSS was drafted before the recent recession began, and even then was excessively optimistic (if that is the right word). Now it is plainly wrong. A much slower rate of growth should be planned for. This will affect Issues 2, 4, and 6. Of the Issues listed, clearly the most important is the question of new homes, how many are needed, what type of new homes, and where should they be built. LEGLAG thinks that most new homes should be affordable and built on brown field land. The next most important issue- especially for present inhabitants - is flood protection; and the third most important-for the future- is protection of the natural and built environmental assets of the area. Visions and Objectives (pages 15 - 17) These are mostly admirable, except that LEGLAG objects to the ‘vision’ of ‘a step-change’ in employment provision. Any change should be steady and gradual, to allow infrastructure to adapt. LEGLAG is also concerned that the RSS may impose excessive forecasts of growth in population and employment. If so, we would be concerned about objective 3 on page16. Cheltenham Urban Area (pp24-26) You are invited to consider the options listed on page 26. LEGLAG would favour the first or third options, to minimise the need to build on peripheral countryside. Five possible ‘Sustainable Urban Extensions’ are described on pages 30 - 32. ‘Things to consider’ are on p. 33, and a ‘key question’ on p. 34. LEGLAG believes that NO urban extension should be planned until it is clear that there is insufficient brown field land available. Cheltenham has recently published a Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment and a Housing Need Assessment, and these two documents (available on the Council web site) do not, in LEGLAG's view, support developers' claims that more development is needed on green field sites around Cheltenham. If one or more urban extensions ARE needed , they should all be carefully assessed, and as few as possible of the least damaging options chosen . We are of course particularly opposed to the proposed urban extension South of Cheltenham in the Leckhampton / Shurdington area because of the impact such an extension would have on the local landscape, and the traffic congestion that would be caused in the area. If this land was developed Cheltenham would lose its most accessible area of attractive countryside, dense with footpaths and full of historical interest. Three Planning Inspectors have said that this land should not be developed for these reasons. Possible Priorities for Delivery Through Development (pages 35-36) LEGLAG thinks the six top priorities should include affordable housing, education, community facilities, walking and cycling improvements, and informal recreation facilities, including open space. Urban Regeneration is discussed (pages 37-40) LEGLAG favours giving priority to urban generation in Cheltenham, but has no particular view on how this should be achieved. Release of Land (pages 40,41) LEGLAG favours a STRONG phasing policy. NO green field land should be released for development UNLESS IT IS CLEAR that there is insufficient brown field land to meet future needs. In that case, only the least valuable green field land should be released, and as little of that as possible. Topic based Policy areas (pages 42-70) This section discusses various topics that apply across the whole area.. LEGLAG has a position on some issues (not all). These positions are the majority view of the current Committee, but (obviously) not all LEGLAG members have to agree! Affordable Housing (pages 42-44) LEGLAG wants more affordable housing to be provided as part of urban regeneration. ‘Things to Consider’ and ‘Key Questions’ are on p. 44. Sustainable Building (pages 45-47) LEGLAG favours strong policies to help tackle climate change. ‘Things to Consider’ and ‘Key Questions’ are on p. 47. Renewable Energy (pages 48-50) LEGLAG thinks that the JCS should adopt the middle option of the three listed, more favourable to renewable energy schemes than at present, but protecting the most valuable landscapes from excessive numbers of wind turbines. ‘Thing to consider’ are on p. 49, ‘Key Question’ on p. 50. Flooding (pages 51 -53) It is important to provide protection against flooding due to surface water from local rainfall (confusingly called 'pluvial flooding'), as well as against river flooding ('fluvial flooding'). All drainage systems, including SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems) must be regularly inspected and maintained if they are to provide protection when it is needed. The Tewkesbury Supplementary Planning Document on Flooding is exemplary and should be adopted across the JCS region. ‘Things to Consider’ and Question are on page 53. LEGLAG believes the JCS should adopt ‘a more precautionary approach’ to building in flood-prone areas. Employment (pages 54-57) LEGLAG thinks the JCS should adopt an employment strategy -with a high emphasis on meeting the employment needs of the existing population. ‘Things to Consider’ and a Key Question on pages 56 and 57. Green Infrastructure (pages 60-62) LEGLAG favours the identification of existing green infrastructure and would want planning guidance to insist that any development should respect existing green infrastructure and, where appropriate, enhance it. ‘Things to Consider’ and Key Question on page 62 Deliverability(pages 68-70) LEGLAG favours a uniform Community Levy on all development, because this would make infrastructure planning less dependent on the whims of developers, and therefore more coherent. The levy could be reduced in certain cases, eg to encourage more affordable homes. ‘Things to Consider’ and Key Question on page 70 End This concludes the Guide. You are encouraged to use it to help you to respond. We thank you for taking the trouble to read this, but we in the LEGLAG committee are not trying to impose our views on you! It is your opinion that the JCS team wants to hear!
November 2009	This is to tell you where you can see the "Roadshow" that gives details about our local Councils' consultation with the public about what should be in the Joint Core Strategy, which will, when it is in force, be one of the key planning documents for our area and therefore very important for LEGLAG. The consultation will in fact continue until the end of January, so your comments need not be in until then, but visiting the roadshow will only be possible in the next couple of weeks, so we urge you to take advantage of this opportunity. The roadshow will be in the Promenade in Cheltenham from 10am until 6pm this Friday and Saturday November 27th and 28th, and various other places after that, but the only one near Leckhampton is at the Brizen Young People's Centre, (the building in the Brizen Sports Field) along Up Hatherley Way on Thursday 10 December from 3pm to 8pm. The consultation document itself - 80 pages of it - is available on the Joint Core Strategy web site. But to help you comment without wading through the whole document we shall soon be emailing you with our views on the consultation, and our views on what you should say - which of course you are free to accept or reject! Meanwhile, if you can, we again urge you to go and have a look at the roadshow! We also plan to distribute a "flyer" widely in Leckhampton to make the general public aware of the consultation and urge them to respond in the way we would like. This flyer will not go out until after Christmas - and many thanks to all of you who have already offered to help distribute it! Margaret White, Secretary, LEGLAG
November 2009	As you know, the new planning system that was introduced a few years ago is in a real mess, especially in the South West Region. The idea was that all planning in our region should be in accord with a new document, the South West Regional Spatial Strategy (the RSS). We originally thought that this was sensible. Unfortunately, the process used to produce this RSS was dominated by Government plans to greatly accelerate the rate of house-building nationally, and as a result the various draft plans produced were quite unacceptable to us and many others. The dramatic recession in the last couple of years has made it obvious how unrealistic the current version of the plan is. As a result , the Government has postponed putting it onto force, and it now looks unlikely that this will happen before next year’s general election. In addition, the Conservative party, widely thought likely to form the next government, has announced that it intends to abolish regional planning, though it is not clear what will replace it. Locally there has been a positive response to this situation, in that the four local authorities who control planning in our area - Cheltenham Borough Council, Tewkesbury Borough Council, Gloucester City Council, and Gloucestershire County Council - have got together in order to produce a “Joint Core Strategy” which will provide a framework for future planning control in our area. This process, which we strongly support (we have been asking for joined-up planning for years), is still at an early stage, however. Because of this rather confused situation, various developers who hope to make a lot of money by building large numbers of houses on various green field sites around Cheltenham are starting to put in outline planning applications for their various projects. These are probably mainly designed to soften up public opinion, though they may also be hoping to slip something through the planning system while it is in such a mess, because although they will certainly be turned down locally, they can go to appeal and may be allowed by a quirky Planning Inspector. Now there is a chance for the people of Cheltenham to have their say about all this. This is because the next stage in the Joint Core Strategy process is a “Public Consultation”, asking local people how they would like our area to develop over the next 20 years. Although we haven’t yet seen the Consultation paper, basically it will ask us how many houses should be built locally, and where they should go. The consultation will start on 23 November, and all responses will have to be in by the end of January 2010. Our view is that it is very important that the people of Cheltenham give a strong response and make it clear that we do NOT want a large growth of Cheltenham, especially not on the valuable countryside surrounding the town. Therefore we intend to campaign strongly to urge people to respond, together with other organisations including CPRE and “Save The Countryside”. [See Links] There will be a public meeting to be addressed by Sir Jonathon Porritt in the Council Chamber on 18th January, 2010, (exact details to be advised later) and in Leckhampton we intend to distribute leaflets in every street, urging a strong response. [See What you can do] Although your committee will work hard on distributing these leaflets themselves, they will need some of you to volunteer to deliver to houses in your area as well! Please let me know if you will be able to deliver some of our leaflets - probably early in the New Year - so we can arrange a complete coverage of our area, and we will let you know when the time comes. A strong response from the people of Cheltenham will greatly strengthen the hand of our local Councillors who are trying hard to resist the pressure from the Government and big developers to swamp our countryside with new housing estates! If you would be willing to distribute the flyers around your area, (possibly very early in the new year) please email Margaret White at secretary@leglag.org.uk - and let her know. If you could add a home telephone number this would be useful as an additional contact. We will continue to update you on what is happening. Thank you for your support and very best wishes, Kit Braunholtz, Chairman
October 2009	The South West Regional Spatial Strategy (SWRSS) which was due to be finalized by the Government in June will not now be decided until at least January 2010, and very likely will not be in force until after the General Election. The Government?s reason for this postponement is that other RSS?s have been successfully challenged in the Courts on the ground that the sustainability assessment was not properly carried out, and so they have asked for a further sustainability assessment of the SWRSS before they make up their mind - it is uncertain how long this will take. As the Conservative Party have said they will abolish all RSS?s if they win the General Election, this puts in doubt whether the SWRSS will ever come into force. This will be an important factor in the arguments for or against any planning application that may be submitted in the next six months, though it is unclear exactly what the consequences will be. Meanwhile the local authorities in our area, Cheltenham, Tewkesbury and Gloucester City, are getting together to prepare to plan jointly for the whole area - a step we thoroughly approve of. The next step they are taking in this direction is to issue a consultation document to ask the public how they would like the area to develop in the next 20 years. This Public Participation document will be issued in November, and it is very important that those of us who are opposed to expanding Cheltenham into its surrounding countryside, and would prefer as much new housing as possible to be built on brownfield sites within the existing urban area, should express our views strongly to that effect when the time comes. We shall be issuing a newsletter to our members to urge them to respond when we know exactly what form the consultation will take. If you wish to learn more about how to oppose any plans to expand Cheltenham, you can attend a meeting organized by Save The Countryside and supported by LEGLAG at the Council Offices at 7.00 p.m. on Wednesday 21st October.
June 2009	15th June The Secretary of State planned to publish the final version of the RSS at the end of June. However, on 20th May, the High Court gave an oral judgment that the published Regional Spatial Strategy for the East of England failed to meet certain requirements of the EU Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive in respect of policies relating to three towns. The Government Office for the South West is currently considering the potential implications for the Regional Spatial Strategy for the South West, but cannot reach a clear view until the written judgement is issued by the Court. It is not possible to set a new timetable, until the implications of the judgment have been clarified, and what action is required, if any.
May 2009	LEGLAG's energies are now concentrated on trying to increase the pressure on the Government to abandon or at least drastically modify the current version of the South West Regional Spatial Strategy (the RSS). The government has said it will publish the final RSS by the end of June, though with Hazel Blears (the responsible Minister) likely to be moved in a cabinet reshuffle this date may well slip again. LEGLAG is joining up with many other similar groups across the whole South West Region in a co-ordinated campaign to make the Government aware of the level of opposition to its plans. The coalition is called "Save our Green Spaces" and has produced a manifesto (see below) to which all the member groups subscribe. Locally, we are co-operating with "Save The Countrside" which is also part of this coalition. One of our actions in this respect has been to write to all County Council candidates in Cheltenham and Tewkesbury to ask them for a promise of support if they are elected . We plan to publish the names of all the candidates who respond positively on the web site, before the election. Similarly we have written to all EU candidates with the same message. In addition, we plan to take part in a region-wide action day (it will be D-Day, June 6th) to gain publicity for our cause. Locally we plan to mount a stand outside the Town Hall and ask people to sign up in support of the manifesto. Volunteers are needed to help man the stand! If you can spare an hour or two on Sat June 6th, please contact Margaret White on 523668
April 2009	A Public Meeting was held at the Council Chamber, Chelteham Borough Council, Promenade on Friday, 24th April, 2009, to protest at the proposed building of 3 million houses by 2026 in England including the new "urban extensions" to the south and north west of Cheltenham. The meeting was addressed by Martin Horwood MP (Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Minister) and Nick Herbert MP (Conservative Shadow Environment Minister).The Save the Countryside Group organised this event and LEGLAG are supporting them. See 'Dates for your diary'. We only have until June to act before the RSS plans are published!
March 2009	The AGM 2009 was held at Leckhampton Village Hall on 18th March. Notes on the meeting are available. The application to build 360 houses at Farm Lane on the site known as SD2, has been refused. But as Martin Horwood MP has said "This is very far from being a final victory against overdevelopment in Leckhampton but it is very welcome and does buy us time."
February 2009	As I write we are waiting for two important decisions by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and also for decisions on planning applications by Tewkesbury Borough Council. Thanks to a splendid response by our members to our calls to them to write and express their views, these decisions will be taken in full knowledge of their local importance, and we hope the decisions will be made wisely - but the waiting is frustrating! We expect to hear the decision on the appeal by David Wilson Homes concerning their application to build 360 houses at Farm Lane early in March. As you will recall, the Appeal was heard at the end of October and the beginning of November. The developers argued that the revised draft Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) had allocated 1300 houses to the South of Cheltenham and that, because Tewkesbury had not enough houses in the pipeline for the next five years, there should be no further delay. Tewkesbury Borough Council and the County Council argued that the RSS also said that any development South of Cheltenham should be planned in a comprehensive manner, and this had not yet been done, so the application was premature. Leglag argued that the revised draft RSS needed considerable modification in view of the numerous objections to it and the drastic change in economic outlook that had occurred in the last few months, and the housing requirement should therefore be reduced, and valuable land such as that at Farm Lane should be saved because of its environmental value. We are moderately confident that the decision on this Appeal will be against the developer. But in the longer run the really important decision will be whether or not the Government accepts any of the objections to the RSS (there were apparently over 35,000 objections!), and in particular whether they reduce the rate of house-building planned for the next five years. The decision on this is not now expected until the summer, so there are still many frustrating months to wait. Meanwhile two more developers have put in planning applications to build large developments in the area, at Brizen Farm and at Oaklands, near the Hatherley Way roundabout. Once again, lots of letters of objection have been written; but we understand that Tewkesbury have decided to make no decision until March when they hear the result of the Farm Lane Appeal. Presumably if that gets turned down, Tewkesbury will turn down these applications too on the same grounds as before. There will be an opportunity to discuss the planning situation at the AGM on the 18th of March, and to consider our long-term strategy. We look forward to hearing ideas from our members! Click here to send your comments.
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