Round-up – October 2018

Medical Centre:  As I reported here, councillors narrowly rejected the application from the Mendip Vale Medical Group (MVMG) on 12 October. MVMG partners were subsequently quoted in the North Somerset Times. My letter published today sets out my own position. North Somerset Council’s (NSC) Planning and Regulatory Committee will meet again on 12 December for a second vote. There’s more about the prospects for that vote in Tom Wright’s piece in the Times today and (for the sake of completeness) here is the Letters page in full (as some contrary views were expressed).

Titan Ladders: I gather this application will be the first item on the P & R agenda for the committee to consider on 14 November. While development on this derelict brownfield site is welcome and is designated for housing in the emerging Yatton Neighbourhood Plan, the amended proposal to build 37 homes on the now disused site at 195-201 Mendip Road is still less than satisfactory. For example, the road will not be adopted by NSC and a management company will be set up with responsibilities for shared surfaces, road maintenance, private refuse collection, drainage and landscaping. That might all work well, until one of the residents stops paying their share (particularly if they are there for the short-term). We know the developer will be off site faster than you can say ‘blocked drain’.

North End Primary School: Four bids were received by academies wishing to run the new school from September 2020. Those Trusts which have submitted declarations of interest are the Educate Together Academy Trust, Lighthouse Schools Partnership, the Clevedon Learning Trust and Cabot Learning Federation. These bids will now be considered by the Department for Education with an announcement of who will run the new school probably coming in February 2019.

Chestnut Farm: On 25 September Yatton Parish Council (YPC) objected to a planning application to build 7 executive-style homes on land at North End. The proposed layout would appear cramped to say the least.

Warehouse units on Arnold’s Way: On 29 October YPC voted unanimously to support an application to construct 7 light industrial and warehouse units on Arnold’s Way. As a member of the public, I did comment that looking at the village as a whole… we know that Costain will soon be vacating the units they occupy on the Market Industrial Estate (which is most of them) and moving to larger construction technology centre on the Weston Gateway Business Park near J21. Are we as a community being proactive with regards pitching for what we might like to see happen at the Market Industrial Estate? This was not addressed by parish councillors in the discussion.

Yatton Parkrun:  I enthusiastically support Jacky and the team wishing to establish a Junior parkrun in Yatton. Please donate anything you can to help them reach their fundraising target.

Roman burial site: More archaeological excavations were due to commence on the Bloor 2 site on 22 October. Archaeologists will be on site for a number of weeks carrying out further work ahead of the planned primary school development. Details of findings will be presented to the local community “in due course”, but the secrecy around what has been found seems excessive and I am unhappy how the community has been intentionally or unintentionally marginalised.

Yatton Neighbourhood Plan:  Provisionally, North Somerset Council (NSC) will now consider the Neighbourhood Plan at a full council meeting on 4 December.