SAVE OUR SUMMERCROSS

www.sosotley.org.uk

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The Context

The original 30 October 2008 Westward Care planning application was followed by a confusing sequence of deadlines for submitting objections.  The initial published deadline for submitting comments was 6 November 2008 (subsequently extended to 11 December 2008).

After apparently seeing the objections that had been submitted against the original application, Westward Care submitted a revised planning application (with updated drawings) on 18 December 2008.  The response of LCC planning was to:

• Replaced some of the local planning notices with (identical) notices dated 23 December 2008 which simply changed the deadline for comments to 13 January 2009).  It is not known when these notices were actually changed (it was Christmas), not all the original notices where replaced and the new ones make no reference to the drawings having been revised!

• Informed a few of the objectors about the above (it appears that the great majority of objectors were not advised).

• Lodged the revised drawings with Otley Library (when did the library actually receive them?).

• Informed some of the objectors about the public meeting of the Plans Panel meeting on 22 January 2009 when the application was to be considered.  It appears that most (or all?) of those who were advised were informed by a letter dated 19 January 2009 (in which LCC apologised that they had not been informed earlier due to an administrative error).

In light of the short notice given to objectors, at the 22 January 2009 meeting the Plans Panel decided to defer consideration of the application until their next meeting on 19 February 2009.

The Revised Application (still reference 08/06122/FU)

As of 25 January 2009, few of the objectors have seen the revised application in Otley Library.  These do not make radical changes either to the scale or footprint of the development, the key changes are:

• The number of residents rooms has been reduced from 48 to 46.

• The previously inadequate car parking provision has been reduced from 20 to 18.

• As viewed from the west (i.e. from the park):

  • the elevations have been simplified

  • the apparent roof levels have been reduced (but please see the reality below).

Click here to read hurried initial comments on the revised application as submitted to planning prior to the 11 December 2009 deadline.

Click here to see details of the revised parking areas.

As our unabridged versions of the even more misleading revised elevations clearly illustrate (see the example above), the level of roof immediately adjacent to the park has been dropped.  However, this change only serves to reveal the main bulk of building looming behind!  The roof has only been revised on this side, the remaining roof levels are unchanged and the resulting roof layout (with three areas of flat roof) is now even more complex:

• Click here to see a readable version of the new roof drawing with ridge and roof levels added (frustratingly these are not specified on the application drawings, they have been estimated by scaling off the elevations).

• Click here to see our corrected versions of all five elevations.  The revised application does not reduce the impact on the skyline, the care home will still dominate the surroundings!

The LCC planning officer prepared a briefing document for the 22 January 2009 Plans Panel meeting.

• Click here to read just those parts that relevant to the Summercross, note that the planning officer is clearly in favour of the application!

What you can do

We have agreed a strategy for the run-up to the next Plans Panel meeting on Thursday 19 February 2009 (and this is now being implemented).

Click here for the SOS Home page.

Click here for the Campaign page.