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If you want to say anything then send us a letter!  They don't just have to be in praise of BOP (Brackley online Post!) but we won't complain if they are!

 

 

Sir,

 

I fully support Geoff Nuelle's view, quoted in the "Banbury Guardian", that to route Construction traffic for the Radstone Fields development along Radstone Road as it is would be entirely unacceptable

 

In order to use Radstone Road I think major re-engineering would be required.

• At the Ellesmere Road junction the road would need to be widened (at the moment it narrows) and the blind bend straightened.  The situation is made more complicated than it might otherwise be by the exit from Bronley's soap factory of course.
• The junction with Wordsworth Close would need to be redesigned as would the one with John Clare Close.
• Thought would have to be given to the priorities at the junction with Oak Road; I think a case can be made to give vehicles emerging from Oak Road priority as is the case with the two Closes; Hawthorn Drive and Edgewood present a similar problem as does the exit from the small enclave further along on the left.

I spoke to Taylor Wimpey's planning consultant when he was at the Town Hall in March and put these points to him; he didn't dispute any of them and said that the developer would have to pay for the work to be done and would have to re-instate the road when the contract was completed.  When I asked him whether he would plan to maintain the priorities as they are at present, he looked uncomfortable and said that he couldn't remember and that he would have to check the paperwork back at his office; not a good sign as far as I was concerned.  I thought he was hedging.

 

The other aspect of traffic management is the handling of the weekday traffic in and out of the development when it's complete.  The volume figures given us by the developer at the "Crown Hotel" presentation in February were 600 in the morning and 600 at night made up of 500 out and 100 in during the morning and vice versa at night; these figures don't appear to match those given in the planning application by the way.

 

I think Humphries Drive will probably become a rat run for vehicles leaving in the Banbury direction rather than Pavilions Way while those going North, East and South will use the BP roundabout to join the A43.  I think it is essential to enable vehicles to leave the development without having to come through North Brackley and I think Taylor Wimpey recognize this from what I heard at the Development Control Committee meeting.

 

 I think we could have tried to make it a condition that agreement should be achieved to upgrade Radstone Road before work on site commenced.  It would not have been an unreasonable condition in the circumstances and it's one that I would have argued for had I been elected.  I don't think Taylor Wimpey would have gone to appeal against such a condition because success would not have been assured, unlike if construction of the relief road had been made a condition, which might have been seen as unreasonable at appeal.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Chris Arnold

 

9, Wordsworth Close,

Brackley.

 

 

Written to Jeremy Wright MP for Southam

Jeremy

 

I don't quite know if you have been misquoted, or misunderstood, in your reported reaction to the proposed Hs2 revisions, but the savage violation of the towns, villages and beautiful countryside blighted by this proposal, cannot be justified by permitting the 'victim' to be allowed a few remnants of her clothing, disguised up as ' the government listening', to cover her shame.  You cannot expect to get away with a wholesale environmental rape of this magnitude, with cynical expectation management. Neither will our universal opposition to this proposal be divided into factions by this kind of political manoeuvring.   That game is up.  You have been weighed in the balance, and found wanting. 

 

The business case for the proposal is shot full of holes, HS1 provides the precedent; it is an environmental catastrophe, ask CPRE; and it is trailing the ruination of peoples' lives in its wake.  The only informed people (and most are not), who are in the pro lobby, are those who benefit directly from the design and construction of the line and self interest groups, Hs2 Ltd, Arup, Centro, Greengage 21 etc and the politicians who are using it as a political virility symbol.   The whole concept is a grotesque illusion, predicated on myth and humbug.  Pete Waterman just went on record as saying 'bugger Coventry'; politically, it seems the same now goes for the Southam and Kenilworth constituency area.

 

But the most vaunting piece of arrogance, and to add dismissive insult to very real injury, the government even expect the project to be subsidised by the people worst affected, through inadequate compensation for the blight suffered.  If the project were ever, by some miracle, proven to be of national benefit, then those who do benefit should properly compensate those who lose. If they cannot afford to do that, then they can neither afford nor justify the scheme, financially or morally.

 

Regards

 

John

 

 

John Lee

Lower Print Farm

Bascote

Southam

Warks

CV47 2DY

01926 817841

07771 625121

 

Hello Alan,

 

I am really writing for no other reason than to say how much I enjoy the Brackley News and what a good job you are doing.  Thank you.

 

Wendy.

 

Brackley Masterplan-what do you think?

I think that you're right to express horror at the suggestion that the site of the St John's Hospital, now occupied by MCS and leased from Magdalen College, Oxford by the  Northamptonshire County Council, should be re-developed as a shopping centre/ housing estate.

 

In fact the proposal would seriously damage an historical legacy which goes back to the 12th century, not just the 16th as you suggest!  I was in the Chapel of St John and St James last Sunday morning and reflected that the building will see its 1000 th 'birthday' in about sixty years' time.  I think that the old Abbots' House, now called St John's House, may pre-date the chapel.  All the buildings are listed, of course, except the 'kitchen block' which now houses the Music Department and some other odds and sods.  I'm not sure about the Driver Hall.

 

I haven't seen the detail of the plan yet; I believe that the six month consultation period begins on the 28th doesn't it?  However, for any re-development to take place, the listed buildings hurdle would have to be vaulted and, since the land and buildings are not public property, the whole lot belongs to Magdalen College, Oxford, the money would have to be found to purchase it.  It's unlikely to be cheap knowing something of the mentality of Oxford colleges!

 

Another problem may be that I believe there is probably a restrictive covenant that requires the site to be used for educational purposes only.

 

Best wishes.

 

Chris Arnold.

Hi Alan,

 

On first glance most of the plan looks awful to me.

 

Particularly the bit about building on Magdalen playing fields.

 

However, I suppose it is only fair to reserve judgement until I have seen the exhibition.

 

Personally, I've never been that convinced that the general public can hold any sway over these 'consultations' as generally once it's got to this stage the authorities have already decided what they want and are very reluctant to change anything.

 

Regards,

Stuart Chatterton

Alan

GREAT NEWS ... Brackley Skate Plaza submitted a proposal to SNC for a skatepark on the land above St. James Lake and Park earlier this year and the draft Brackley Master Plan published today includes our skatepark. Now the work really begins.. we will be in touch with how you can help..just wanted you to know the good news

Also dont forget oour next trip (coach sponsored by The South Northamptonshire Leisure Trust) on July 4th
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=134338919913884

Thanks
Peter

Hi B online P

 

The woefully inadequate time of six weeks set aside for the people of Brackley to consider and make comments on the Draft Brackley Masterplan is nearing its end! There are a lot of people who for all sorts of reasons are still not aware of of the Masterplan and its implications for Brackley. I have emailed SNC for an extension of a further six weeks to allow more time to allow the local groups such as Brackley Means Business and Brackley online Post (doing a great job by the way) and others acting as a conduit between the towns folk and the Council. It is important that every body has the opportunity to have their say! STOP PRESS I hear from a reliable source that there has been an extension of a further 20 days granted (TBC).

 

I would also like to be assured that a policy of complete openness is going to be practiced by SNC and confirmed by making the invited comments collected during the consultation period available to the public. That way we can all see what has been decided in the Final Draft, has taken into account what the people of Brackley have said, and more poignantly, has been acted on! This would ensure the same won't happen as happened with the Burgess Square fiasco where we were promised shops and ended up with a whole load of flats, the majority of which are still unoccupied. A fact I believe is recognised in the Draft Masterplan as not the best use of the site (I stand corrected if this is not so) and it is interesting and right that the Masterplan points out a few down to earth facts "Current oversupply and overpriced residential units within the town centre" and "Unrealistic expectations of landlords in the current economic climate" over expectation is a town centre killer if ever there was one.

 

I would also like to see how MCS are going to react with regard to the old site. If things are going to be moved around then perhaps there is scope for the school to expand onto the cricket ground and perhaps Brackley Bowls Club sites! No disrespect to either of these clubs but new grounds could prove to be of great benefit. What I personally would NOT like to see is the sports field being built on, I think it will have detromental effect on the character of the town.

 

D Thompson

Hi Alan,  just a response too you rgds the masterplan, i went down and spoke to the planning officers and made a suggestion to them which i dont think they agreed with.  I said about this communtiy building where the old toilet block is would cover the town hall as you drive down from the top of the high street. I suggested maybe a better use of space would be to extend the existing square ouside costa coffee into the car park area, whilst retaining a car park either side of the extended square. And maybe something like a fountain in the middle that would be designed on something that brackley would be associated with.  I suggested the lack of retail in the town needed more shops now not in 15 years time, and why were building left unoccupied and falling into a state of disrepair.  As with everything else i feel we need to get together to with the council and maybe enlist our local gallery to do a sketch of how BMB would like our town to look.

 

must go.....rgds martin will chat later

Hi Al

I have told everybody but I did with burgess square and we fought but nothing happened so do you think they will listen this time we all dont .

see you soon

Dawn x

I decided to sit down and read the Brackley Masterplan as I’d heard there were a few changes expected for Brackley. I live here, it is my ‘extended’ home and I have brought a child up here, so I needed to know what was planned for my town. My expectations of the Masterplan was to boost retail in the town and to build on the community that is already here. I was quite shocked to get a feeling of an undercurrent of a different agenda…House building.

I tried to remain objective and with an understanding that all changes are not bad and unfortunately in a growing world, change is inevitable but I’ve got to say I felt saddened at how Brackley could change, and not for the better. I pictured the times I’ve spent at the fields at St. Johns site watching fireworks and in recent years enjoying the carnival..this would not happen again, it would just become another estate of houses built on top of one another. I pictured the leafy market square lined with trees and tried to imagine that being turned into a car park with large buildings . This, a uniqueness of Brackley’s heritage ..gone.  The laughter at the soap box derby..the crowds watching the carnival would be no more. The beautiful St.Johns chapel hidden along with its buildings that hold so much history.

Manor Road, a busy street and somewhat frustrating with the amount of parked cars and school traffic.. making it one way, perhaps a good idea..but imagine houses built where Magdalen School is..walk further down and imagine houses built on the swimming pool and surrounding school land.  The intertwined streets that lead to more and more houses and eventually getting to the edge of Brackley, to the views over the countryside to the West.. to see more houses, maybe a large school. The houses that Brackley was originally to take on the Radstone fields, have now increased and will be built all the way around the North and West side of Brackley.. imagine one huge Estate..

Walk to the south, to the football club. Football maybe not ‘your thing’, as it isn’t mine, but it gives opportunities to many of the youngsters and fun to many an adult cheering for their local team and offers a facility for evenings of music, fun and laughter…imagine it gone, imagine houses instead..

Walk to Turweston, over the river past the fields. OK, the graffiti under the embankment may not be too attractive, but to walk through another industrial park would perhaps be worse.  Imagine a railway line built on stilts above your head with trains thundering past..

I could go on. I could go in to the light pollution, the extra strains on council resources that are currently being cut, the chance of higher crime but no police station..so much more to think about.

There are changes in the Masterplan that appear to want to help Brackley, improved bus routes, more buses..a new leisure centre, new hotel facilities to replace those that have SNC allowed to been turned into apartments, but at the moment I can see Brackley recovering without extra changes. I can see more retail units in town, there are carnivals, festivals and community events. Brackley has, if you want to be part of it, a very strong, friendly community with lots of diverse activities and wonderful people. It has beautiful buildings, much history and extensive countryside. Brackley is quite unique.  Do we need more houses, buildings and another industrial estate? I believe not, but we need voices to fight this….

Name and Address supplied

You can click on the blue links to read the views of Team Brackley Means Business (the community arm of BMB) and Brackley Players

Please email your comments to brackleynews@globalmapping.uk.com

Letter to the Editor

 

Dear Sir,

I am frustrated by negative press coverage about South Northamptonshire Council’s (SNC) move to Moat Lane.  I fear people are being taken in by a campaign against SNC, led by key people from a political party not represented on the Council. 

The development proposals were the subject of public consultation and the planning brief was adopted in 2007.  These proposals were well received and the proposition of turning an unkempt wasteland into a quality town centre was something that most felt excited about.  It seems that SNC wanting to move here has sparked this campaign.  However the original proposals for this part of the site were offices.  This is exactly what they will be with SNC – so no change - and the traffic and parking requirements remain the same.

Misleading information has been used in the campaign against SNC, which has failed to talk about the benefits the move will bring.  The total effect of the move will reduce costs by at least £200,000 per year and provide numerous benefits to residents, the Moat Lane Development and SNC.  SNC owns both Springfields and Moat Lane. The cost of the new buildings will be paid for from the sale of the old site, where many hope that a home, providing care for people with dementia and thus creating jobs, will be built.  The savings comprise much lower running costs and income from the new civic multi-purpose facility, in which English Heritage is involved to ensure that it is sympathetic to the historic setting.  The decked public parking area, which was accepted in the 2007 planning brief, has now been redesigned to reduce its visibility.

SNC’s move proposal has attracted interest from major developers, who we understand would not have shown such interest otherwise.  The Council’s commitment gives them confidence to consider major investment in the most exciting development in Towcester since the Romans came here 2000 years ago!

Moat Lane will provide the town centre that Towcester deserves; more shops, cafes, offices, employment and homes as well as civic buildings and offices that provide vital services to the community.  Residents should feel proud and excited at what is happening and should not get misled by some peoples’ questionable motives. 

Yours faithfully,

Councillor Dermot Bambridge

South Northamptonshire Council

Ward Member for Silverstone.

 

I’ve been looking through your Brackley online Post and I think it is a wonderful idea.

Since South Northamptonshire Council closed the Tourist information Centre I now have somewhere to find out what’s going on.

Thank you and keep up the good work.

Anon

Thank you for your interesting, upbeat bulletin each week. It is just what we’ve needed for a long time in Brackley. It certainly makes it easy to plan something when you have visitors coming.

Pam

 

I visited our Customer Service Centre to see Anna Steiner’s artwork on the wall and I love it! It livens up the space and makes a good point of visual interest in a room that is otherwise very functional and rather plain. I can see how Anna has interpreted ideas and references from the workshop, transposing the literal into artistic design and form. It would be impossible to use everything that people contribute to such a process, but she has distilled many disparate elements into a unique work that people will see and relate to in different ways, finding their own enjoyment or questions. I found that it made me think of the town as a connecting point of routes with features between them, also with the patterns and colours of the surrounding countryside; the liveliness and colourfulness also suggested people and all the activities we get up to, particularly as groups that connect people, past and present. It’s the kind of work that, each time I see it, something new will occur to me, or I will feel differently about an aspect of it.

Sue

I saw the art work in the Town Council Office today. It was bright and lively but I couldn’t see the ‘fish’…and what have fish got to do with Brackley? I was disappointed not to see my own piece of work.

Joan

 

I also thought I should try badminton on Wednesday..I did not realise we had a club!! Judith

Alan. Thank you for the E-Mails Re Brackley-on line.I always find them very interesting and very professional.I would imagine everyone in and around brackley would log on to find out about all that is going on.If we were a bit nearer we would attend all of the fayres that are going on. I think you do an excellent job.(its almost a job on its own. Keep up the good work.

Ken.

Hi Alan, thanks for the update! I had been going on the internet to check out whats happening in Brackley, but it didn’t have that much on it! I’ll check out your website – maybe you can say its global now too with fans in Australia J

Tabitha is growing up fast as is Eliza, and Chloe. Great seeing how they all blossom out, but maybe not with the ‘teen attitude’!

 

Anyway, just at home looking after the girls as Clare has gone out for the end of school year dinner with parents and teachers for Elizas year 1 class. We have been here 18 months now, and are still loving it.

CarlYates

The 60's/70's was excellent. Well attended too - perhaps on line is working for the usual problem of apathy in Brackley!! Jude

Does anyone else have problems with drivers along the Banbury Road? No one seeems to have any idea of the size of the vehicle they are driving. It causes queues when they are not necessary!

Perhaps we should get them to attend the driver's course and then they might not be such a frustration to other road users?!

 

You can also join our Facebook page.  Type brackley online post into the search box and the page below wil come up.  Click the Join Group for the one with the logo-not the question mark-that was me learning!  This has become a useful resource for urgent news.