Just to let you know that i have submitted on your behalf, all the submissions made via my website.
The numbers have been overwhelming. With letters coming to my home address too.
Thanks to all of you. We’ve made our mark.
Now it’s over to Wiltshire council to listen to its residents. But that, i’m not so confident of!
Wiltshire council will give a presentation to council members this Friday at 10.30am. Yes, when those Councillors who work, will be doing exactly that!
Just why they cannot present one evening is beyond me. But then, the Cabinet member for the Recovery is no longer local! Maybe that explains it.
An application has been submitted to Wiltshire council, to build 640 (more?) houses on Netherhampton Rd.
The plans etc, can be seen HERE.
When you click the link, click the “Download plans and documents” link, on the RHS near the top.
You have until the end of 16th August to submit any comments, which i urge you to do.
Wiltshire Council’s Strategic Planning Committee will determine the controversial Library application next week. The meeting, which is public, will be held at:
City Hall at 10.30am on Wednesday June 19th.
Please attend and if you can air your views and listen to others! The agenda for the meeting can be seen HERE.
The City Council’s Planning Committee voted to support the application on party lines by 5 to 3. All the Tories spoke in favour, citing how good the building is and how the 40ft Rule Policy should be broken on this occasion. This is unbelievable, as they clearly have not read the Conservation Officers Report. None of them actually spoke on planning matters, but Tory policy. They had a pre-meeting and were whipped. The proposal is unfit for Salisbury. But we are talking Wiltshire Council! If this was anyone other than a Wiltshire Council application, it would have been thrown out for a higher quality design. This meeting stunk of pre-planned speeches and a total disregard to Wiltshire Planning Policies. Once the 40ft Rule is broken, that’s it. This will come back to bite the Tories and the sooner the better.
I will be there on Wednesday. I hope you can be too!
A full meeting of the City council takes place on 11th March at the Guildhall from 6.30pm.
The meeting is open to the public and the agenda and Reports are HERE. A briefing on the High St bid by Wiltshire council will take place, for what will be an interesting agenda! See you there!
In a Salisbury Journal article today, Wiltshire council finally admit that their plans were “Rushed”, but they are still not listening to the public, who do not want the Library to move and certainly not into a space the size of a shoe box.
Quoting the corporate director, Alistair Cunningham “That was Phase One and it possibly proceeded at a pace that was a wee bit fast for public understanding of why we are doing it, and as an officer of the council we did that and we got that wrong” and “I have to say local members picked up a lot flack because we had not properly engaged so apologies for that”. He further went on to say “They needed to act swiftly to ensure the £6.1 million government funding set aside for the Maltings development was not lost.”
I am aghast at these comments. So, the council think the public are stupid, as their planning application proceeded at a pace a wee bit fast for public understanding? What utter nonsense.
And as for local members getting any flack, these were clearly Conservative Councillors, who did not bother to challenge the council at any stage, keeping their silence to try to protect their party colleagues. They should be ashamed. Their residents will not forget this, like they will.
Our MP should be demanding that this £6.1m should be kept for Salisbury and not have to be used by March 2021. Last year’s event was wholly unusual and is reason to keep it. No other areas around the country could ever challenge this.
We will keep up pressure on the council to see sense, which is not an easy task! The Library needs to stay put. There is no need to move it away from the centre into a shoe box. But Tory councillors cannot see that.
Click HERE to go to the website
We’ll be outside the Library this Saturday, 10am to 12pm to collect signatures against the plans by the Tories to close our Library and move it to a space 70% smaller.
If you’re in Town tomorrow, please come and see us and sign the petition. Both LibDem and Labour will present the combined petition to Wiltshire council at their meeting on 26th February.
If you can’t sign in person, then please do so online, using our online petition, which is in my previous post. Help save our local services.
Salisbury Library is under threat. The Tories want to close it and move it temporarily to a building 70%, yes 70% smaller than the current Library, about 150m away on Fisherton St.
It’s the second busiest Library in the South West region, after Exeter. It ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
The Planning Application is HERE and you can comment, although this is only on planning matters. You can though, compare the size of the new building. The public consultation is open until 7th February.
A document on the Wiltshire Council website is HERE. It’s the consultation document drawn up by Salisbury District Council on the future Malting’s redevelopment. See page 53. It clearly mentions “City Library and Galleries”.
This shows the current Library building over three floors (clearly visible from GT’s Card Shop) and at approx 20,000 sq ft. It’s temporary decant building is only 5,983 sq ft, 72% smaller.
Two of Wiltshire Council’s cabinet announced at the Area Board last week that the current Planning Application, is only a temporary ‘decant’ and that they think the Library will end up in the Cultural Quarter of the Malting’s. Will it? They don’t even know! Yet the Planning Application mentions “Library” all over it. The Council has egg on its face and have been rumbled.
Sign the petition to SAVE SALISBURY LIBRARY. Please click HERE.
The Library is under threat:
These may all be under threat. SAVE OUR LIBRARY. HANDS OFF OUR LIBRARY.
The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) are reviewing the Wiltshire council Ward Boundaries. Surprisingly, they are content to keep 98 wards, which is really unheard of. Neighbouring Cornwall, are being reduced from 123 to 87 councillors. Toilet talk perhaps with the Baroness and LGBCE?
Harnham is at last, being re-united, which is good news. Lower, Middle and Upper Streets and this area, will re-join the rest of Harnham, which was ridiculously ‘split’ by Wiltshire council in 2008.
I have supported the proposal, but on one condition: That the council revisit the East/West split. But I should have guessed, that they have not involved me, or consulted me, after several failed promises to do so. The line just needs ‘tinkering’, as I believe, there will be too many electors in the West, then East.
The West will include the very contentious Netherhampton development, of 740 new houses. I believe this is the only Urban/Country breach in Wiltshire.
But as usual, Wiltshire council officers and Tory councillors are not listening. But I will submit my comments to the LGBCE to this effect, along with my proposal for East/West split.
If you feel strong on this issue, please comment. The consultation ends on 5th November and can be viewed here:
https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/14518/