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Post by creaner on Feb 4, 2016 18:12:21 GMT
I've had a few people speaking to me saying they've written to their Councillor/MP etc. about supporting the planning application and getting the "can't comment on planning matters" response. And they are right, they will not and should not. It's not the right question and your giving them an easy way out. Here's the situation, We continue the ongoing planning process supplying the WCC planners with all they need to satisfy themselves on all the objections from all the consultees. The following scenarios unfold:
1. Planners recommend that planning committee refuse to approve the application. They kick it out and we're knacked 2. Planners recommend that planning committee approve the application. They approve! This is what where we are trying to get to. Planners approve and we have this in our pocket for 3 years 3. Planners recommend that planning committee approve the application. They reject. We appeal, they need to have valid planning reasons to say no.
All being well we come out with an approved planning application.
So the question that needs asking now and up till the local elections in May is:
"If the planning application was approved would you support the principle of WCFC becoming part of the sporting hub at Perdiswell?".
If the planners are happy and the planning committee have signed it off why wouldn't they be? What would their reason be then for looking at alternatives- wherever they are they still haven't said.
Ask the right question!
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Post by sleepinggiant on Feb 5, 2016 10:07:46 GMT
Thanks Rob for this really useful advice.
Have the council got back yet with a list of alternative locations that they promised before Christmas?
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Post by creaner on Feb 5, 2016 11:02:12 GMT
Thanks Rob for this really useful advice. Have the council got back yet with a list of alternative locations that they promised before Christmas? Still waiting....
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Post by wcfcnb82 on Feb 5, 2016 12:38:29 GMT
Thanks Rob for this really useful advice. Have the council got back yet with a list of alternative locations that they promised before Christmas? Still waiting.... Is it much use asking for alternative sites? As perdiswell is the ONLY option we have, if they say no, no way can the trust surely afford another round of raising money to do all the surveys etc for a new site if found. It will takes years for this to be complete by which time the club will more than likely have been folded due to finds running out.
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Post by Croc on Feb 5, 2016 13:29:10 GMT
I see today that the SWDP has been signed off
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Post by miserablesod on Feb 5, 2016 16:21:12 GMT
I sent a mail recently and got this response:
Hi Robert, Could you let me know your opinions on the proposed community sports hub at Perdiswell please?
Many thanks
-----------------------
Hi,
As I do not know any details concerning a possible Community Sports Hub at Perdiswell I cannot give you an opinion.
It may perhaps be helpful should you wish to do so to contact Councillor Mike Johnson who has the Leisure Portfolio.
Best wishes Robert Rowden
Bit of a cop out... ah well... He is representing Battenhall, where I squat...
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Post by creaner on Feb 5, 2016 16:26:30 GMT
I sent a mail recently and got this response: Hi Robert, Could you let me know your opinions on the proposed community sports hub at Perdiswell please? Many thanks ----------------------- Hi, As I do not know any details concerning a possible Community Sports Hub at Perdiswell I cannot give you an opinion. It may perhaps be helpful should you wish to do so to contact Councillor Mike Johnson who has the Leisure Portfolio. Best wishes Robert Rowden Bit of a cop out... ah well... He is representing Battenhall, where I squat... He's not very observant if he hasn't seen the new swimming pool then!
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Post by Brooksiders Return!! on Feb 5, 2016 16:39:14 GMT
You have to wonder sometimes which planet some of our councillors reside on! I am sure Robert Rowden has been a councillor for many years, and would have been around during the years of the Local Plan, he probably would have voted for adoption of the Local Plan. Now it is obvious that he never read it!! He certainly never read Section Two! Sub Regional Facilities 10.74 It is recognised that Worcester has a sub regional role in the provision of sports and leisure facilities. Perdiswell Leisure Centre caters for sports and also for large assemblies of people for social and spectator events. For this reason, Perdiswell is considered to be the appropriate location for any further out of centre sub-regional sports facilities, supplementing the existing facilities. This would enhance its status as a multi-purpose venue for indoor and outdoor activities. It is considered that sub regional sports facilities which seek an out of centre location should also be located at Perdiswell.
Ok the Local Plan is now superseded, but the facts are there, Perdiswell is considered the correct location for a sub-regional sports facility. It is the reason that the swimming pool is being located there, it is the reason that we are looking to locate there. It fits city council policy!! What is becoming very clear , worryingly, is that city councillors appear to have little idea of what the overall plan put forward by the Supporters Trust is all about. I am getting more convinced that they think we want to build a "lock up and leave" football stadium up there!!
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Post by thatloudbloke on Feb 5, 2016 17:34:54 GMT
This was the email I sent to Robin Walker, with assistance from my son who is quite politicly motivated. make your own mind up with his answer... I have also posted an email to Sheena Ramsay the day after but still waiting for reply, not surprised...
" Hi Robin
May I refer you to your words below taken from your website. I am in agreement, as I also am passionate about our City, having grown up here.
"Worcester is a wonderful place and I want to keep working to make it better Having grown up in Worcestershire I am passionate about our world class County and ambitious for its future".
I take issue though, that at this time we do not have our local football club playing in Worcester. As you have your advert in the Worcester City Football Club programme for each match, I assume you support the club, and wish to see it return to the city in the near future.
The solution seems to be the planning application for WCFC to return to Worcester at Perdiswell, but this has been met with delays from the planning committee at the City Council. We have now been waiting over half a year for a decision to be made, while the club struggles to continue to function away from it’s rightful home in the city.
Here are some comments from various Worcester City Councillors, having been asked if they support the application, and the football clubs desire to return to the city:
Labour:
\"Essentially, I am keen for the football club to return to Worcester, to play at Perdiswell as part of a wider sporting hub makes most sense and they need a fully complementary programme of community activity and engagement on that site. There may be difficulties with the detail of the plans but these are for discussion and resolution, They should not be reasons for the club not fulfilling the aspirations of its supporters.\"
\"I can confirm that the City Council Labour group support the return of the football club to the city.\"
\"In short I and the Labour Party want the Club back in Worcester. Perdiswell is the perfect place for the Football Club due to the available parking and infrastructure available. With the New pool also being put on the Site it would be a perfect fit for Worcester and put Perdiswell on the map for Sporting Events.\"
Conservative:
\"Councillor Geraghty is currently away from the office but he has asked me to thank you for your email on his behalf and confirm that as this is a \'live\' planning application, (to be determined by the City Council), it would not be appropriate for him to comment ahead of the application being considered at Planning Committee which is the relevant decision making body. Councillor Geraghty has asked me to thank you for taking the time to write to him, and if you require more information you may wish to make contact with Paul O\'Connor the Authority\'s Development Manager.\"
\"The difficulty you have with asking councillors on their views is it could put them in a prejudicial situation which will bar them from taking part on the planning process. I want to see Worcester City return to their home city but any site proposed will need to meet planning rules and for it to be viable and affordable to the club. Back in 2010 I voted in favour of the Nunnery Way site. That site met the planning conditions but the club couldn\'t afford to go ahead. There some councillors who are using this to seek electoral support by promising a site that may not be deliverable (they too need to be careful to avoid being classed as prejudiced). Local Members (the ward where the proposed ground is to be based) are campaigning against the Perdiswell proposals because they have concerns on the impact of the development for local residents.\"
\"Whilst I welcome the proposed Swimming pool and rebuild of the sports centre up at Perdisewell I am unable to make comment about a planning application that has been submitted to the city council.\"
\"Thank you for your email. I have since 2013 voiced my opposition against Worcester City Football Club Supporters Trust proposed Football Stadium together with six other proposed football pitches at Perdiswell. To take way precious green open space enjoyed by the all ages from the young to the old for a football stadium is not in my view acceptable. The impact on my constituents in St Stephen Ward will be serious especially those on Bilford Rd, Beech Ave Beech Ave North, Blanquettes Residential estate, Kingston Ave, Woodland Rd, Drovers Way Residential estate, Farm Close, Field Rd. If approved those roads will become a car park.. The site is dark at night. Adjacent to the Canal conservation corridor. Lost views. Lack of on-site parking for cars and coaches. Additional traffic on an already very busy Bilford Road. I did make a suggestion that they locate to Six Ways . I would like the football club back to Worcester but not at Perdiswell. My view is that they have chosen Perdiswell because Worcester City own the land and they think they can have it for free or a very cheap rent. A recent survey undertaken in St Stephen ward 2014 indicated 80% against the football stadium. Worcester News have featured this subject on many separate occasions in articles and the You Say comments page.\"
The response from the Labour Party is supportive of the club, and they seem to want to support the planning application, to build a stadium on part of Perdiswell. The same however cannot be said from the response of your Conservative colleagues at the city council, especially when one of them quotes a biased survey that was run by the main group of objectors to the planning application (Protect Perdiswell Park).
It would be greatly appreciated if you as the City MP, and a well respected member of the local Conservative party, could put your views to your coleagues & support the football club, perhaps in an open letter in the local newspapers.
The planning application being granted would greatly improve aspirations to make Worcester ‘world class’, as it will offer sports facilities far better than any currently on offer in the city, and will be available to anyone who wishes to use them.
The football club have shown in recent times that it’s support is very strong, even whilst away from Worcester, having taken over 3,000 supporters to a FA Cup match against Coventry last year, and over 2,000 to another FA Cup match against Sheffield United. These are frustrated fans who are sadly only seeing support for the club from Labour, and not the Conservatives, please make this change!
Thank you for taking the time to read my email, I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Dear Mr Hundley,
I have repeatedly made clear that I support the club returning to the city but I cannot comment and will not get drawn in to a specific planning decision.
Councillors are free to take their own positions on planning matters and are not whipped or organised on a party basis so it will be for elected local councillors to make their own decisions on a planning matter. My comments in support of the club returning to Worcester are clear and on the record but I have no mandate to demand a specific site or to overrule the city council on a planning matter. I will continue to press the council to help the Club reach a positive outcome and I stand ready to support any funding bids once a decision is secured, but I cannot decide on the matter of planning permission.
Best wishes,
Robin Walker MP
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Post by creaner on Feb 5, 2016 18:27:08 GMT
Asking directly about the planning is like bowling a slow full toss, they just whack it back at you. Don't let them off the hook.
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stamoo
First Teamer
Posts: 349
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Post by stamoo on Feb 5, 2016 22:21:47 GMT
I've had a few people speaking to me saying they've written to their Councillor/MP etc. about supporting the planning application and getting the "can't comment on planning matters" response. And they are right, they will not and should not. It's not the right question and your giving them an easy way out. Here's the situation, We continue the ongoing planning process supplying the WCC planners with all they need to satisfy themselves on all the objections from all the consultees. The following scenarios unfold: 1. Planners recommend that planning committee refuse to approve the application. They kick it out and we're knacked 2. Planners recommend that planning committee approve the application. They approve! This is what where we are trying to get to. Planners approve and we have this in our pocket for 3 years 3. Planners recommend that planning committee approve the application. They reject. We appeal, they need to have valid planning reasons to say no. All being well we come out with an approved planning application. So the question that needs asking now and up till the local elections in May is: "If the planning application was approved would you support the principle of WCFC becoming part of the sporting hub at Perdiswell?". If the planners are happy and the planning committee have signed it off why wouldn't they be? What would their reason be then for looking at alternatives- wherever they are they still haven't said. Ask the right question! Creaner, Magnificent clarity thank you. A bit early and very premature for congratulations I know but I have to say you and the Trust are playing a blinder so far and that gives me hope for a positive outcome to all of your hard work however long or hard the road may be.
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