Its great to see how pleased everyone is with the result - were all on cloud 9. For those who arent on our email list I thought Id post a bit more information on the decision and what the committee are planning to do now (not very much in the immediate future!). Heres the text from our last email, We had the news yesterday that the Planning Inspector at the Baxters Fields Inquiry has dismissed the appeal - on the grounds of its impact on landscape. This is obviously fantastic news, and weve had it earlier than we expected. You can get the full text of the decision notice from savesladvalley.org.uk/DECISION.pdf where you can read the beautiful words on the first page Both appeals are dismissed. (also attached to this post as a file) The core reason for the decision is landscape. The Inspector agreed that our valley is valued - and not just by a few local nimbies - that the fields form an important part of the continuation of the AONB into Stroud, and that views will be damaged. The crucial words in the judgement are that the damage to the quality of the landscape would not comply with the provisions of the NPPF which seek to recognise the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside, with the adverse impacts being of sufficient importance to significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of the scheme. He didnt agree with our other arguments - the impact on heritage assets, the traffic, bats, flooding and access. Obviously we dont agree with him about this, and it was definitely worth making all those arguments. All those who were saying they didnt want the so-called country park can also be pleased, as the Inspector wasnt impressed by it either. Thank you to everyone who has supported us in any way - your support has been vital - and thanks too for the financial contributions. We have spent virtually every penny of the money raised. (Overall you helped us raise above £5000 - with significant contributions from the previous action group, and lots of individual donations and purchases of tea-towels etc. Will this be the end of it? We dont know - Gladman still own the land, and they could still put in a different application on the site and start the whole thing again. However, the good news is that because the key reason is the landscape there is nothing they can do to change this, and the appeal decision will be a major problem for them in any new application. What we hope is that this will give us a breathing space until the Stroud District Council has an agreed housing plan which excludes this site. It has been a long hard struggle over the last 2 years, but it has been worth it. The sad news is that Gladman have just won their appeal for their development at Mankley fields between Leonard Stanley and Kings Stanley. As an organising Committee we are now pretty much stepping back. We will hang on to the website name savesladvalley.org.uk in case its needed for a new campaign in the future and will retain the mailing list used for this email so that if any new threats emerge to the valley you can be contacted, and because we may want peoples help to lobby Stroud District Council to give the fields a special status in their new local plan. If you want to be taken off that list please email us. All the best to everyone and we hope you can enjoy the rest of the summer confident that our valley is that bit safer than it was! Alison, Andy, Anita, Craig, Elaine and Phil
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 21:13:50 +0000
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