Oswestry21

J Ross have lodged an inevitable appeal against the decision taken at the last Special Planning Committee meeting on the 29th July to turn down their application for a super market development on Central Car Park.

Their appeals can be seen here:The appeals have now appeared on the PINS website:

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/professionals/appeals/search/“Search for a Case” using just “Oswestry” as the town brings up:

APP/L3245/A/10/2134748 – the appeal against the main application

APP/L3245/E/10/2134877 – the appeal against the conservation area demolition application.

The Planning Inspectorate have put this down for a “hearing” rather than for formal Public Inquiry. Which is surprising given the level of controversy and public opinion. A hearing would consist of a round table discussion between the appellants and the Planning Inspectorate about the pros and cons of the CCP development. This would appear to mean that a decision either way on CCP could be taken quickly, or it might mean that either J Ross or the Planning Inspectorate might push for a full formal Public Inquiry.

In the meantime the Special Planning Committee could, theoretically, have decided on the other three applications. Their next scheduled meetings are 23 September, 22 October and 18 November.

The schedule for the J Ross appeal hearing seems to be: “start date” is 2 September. By 16 Sep everyone who commented/objected on CCP should have been notified formally by the Council of this appeal. Copies of all those previous comments/objections will be forwarded to Robert Wordsworth, the appeal Inspector. OS21 and Coalition parties need to then submit, no later than 14 October, an electronic copy of any additional statement they wish to make, summarising their case.

A brief summary of the current state of play sifted from a  considerable amount of info. In the interests of clarity, if anyone who has a clearer understanding of the schedule and timings of this appeal process wishes to comment or correct, then please feel free to do so.

So - it ain’t over ’til the well stacked diva bursts into an aria…………………

The early dawns, summer’s fleeting arrival, the scent of bluebells and lilac in the air may all help to remind us that this year’s long winter may be over.  In the distance the drums of the developers can still be heard by those who listen for them.  A flurry of activity over the past two weeks from the four developers is our signal that life returns to the campaign.  So what the News Desk asked itself last night was, does OS21 make a difference?

Reading through pages of new submissions you will not see reference to OS21 but you will, if you have as we have, become students of the planning process see the effects OS21 has had on the debate.

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What a great turnout!
A huge THANK YOU to the formidable team of helpers, who worked non stop and then managed to pack up the leftovers and deliver them to some very grateful charity shops. Donating time is as important as donating goods or money, as events like this require a huge amount of organisation in order to be successful.

I would also like to thank Honeysuckle for supplying tea, coffee and cakes and everyone else that baked a cake or donated goods.
The £350 raised will help to finance our next campaign as the Strategic Planning Committee meeting date draws closer and all the developers are preparing for their supermarket beauty contest.
Again, thank you all. Next meeting The Walls, 7th June at 7pm.

Meet and talk at our Jumble Sale, Saturday 22 May from 11am - 2pm at the Memorial Hall.

Clothes, books, great cakes and tea.

Perhaps not the groundbreaking post you have come to expect, but our activities need funding!

D day tomorrow. Decision or Deferral? After two years of debate since the Town Council/OCA Smithfield shambles first came to light, during which Oswestry has become encircled by Tesco in every neighbouring town,  the Strategic Planning Committee meets at the Lion Quays tomorrow afternoon to decide whether Oswestry is to become another clone town/ghost town and become one of the last to clamber aboard the sinking ship of supermarket over-provision, or whether it can have some self belief in its own economy and community and offer the rare opportunity to inhabitants and visitors alike to experience what it is to be a market town.

All the current applications were visualised in a very different economic climate to that which we are now experiencing. All are based on a need argument set out by Nathaniel Lichfield Partners which have been steadily and incrementally reduced since 2007 to a shadow of their initial findings. Petrol costs are rising, food miles and local food issues are now common components of newspaper articles and news items. And realisation that true leakage is the leakage from the local economy created by supermarkets is now common knowledge.

All the applications facing the Strategic Planning Committee are either far too large or too far out of town, or both. All will affect the town, independent traders, the community, and drain the local economy. Until real need in the form of sensible creation of employment land for real long term and decently paid jobs and the subsequent building of housing in the locality is in place, there is no need for further supermarket presence in a small market town that already has Sainsburys, ALDI, Morrisons, M & S; S, Iceland, and the various other outlets that provide food retail that have opened recently.

Here’s to a sane and pragmatic decision to either refuse all four applications or to defer a decision until such time as scale is appropriate to need. The desperation evidenced by developers in recent days says far more about their need to make the bucks than it does about any consideration for the town’s need to continue as an economic community.

Twist or bust.

It’s been known for a while that someone has created a fake oswestry21 website which is “vehemently opposed to the activities of oswestry21″, and thus, presumably,  is vehemently opposed to discussion of any kind of sustainability issues. But it’s mention on Radio Shropshire yesterday morning bought it to public notice.

The site was registerd by an I. Packington, and displays a delightfully inappropriate photograph of what seems to be a small continental harbour drenched in sunlight. It has a couple of links to pro supermarket articles, and appears to be collecting names and post codes which are claimed to be being sent to Oswestry Town Council.  OTC must be baffled as to what to do with this limited information, as it’s hands are tied in any planning decision regarding the supermarkets as they are interested parties on two counts - as landowners of both the Smithfield and the Central Car Park. Nice photo though.

350 people made a presence that put paid to recent rumours of a “vociferous minority” of supermarket protesters. It was a strong turnout which met with no opposition views and represented concerned individuals of all ages from Oswestry and it’s surroundings. This was a definite message that many are tired and angry at having the future of what is a market town dictated by supermarket retailers and developers and by elected councillors that are so in thrall to them that they have little vision for the town as a community and economic entity in the changing times that are facing us.

The arguments and reasons have been discussed many times in these back pages, and if the process after a planning decision on the 18th March is to go to appeal, as expected, then these arguments will have to be refined and honed further. But for now, the fact remains that 350 people gave up their Saturday morning for their voices to be heard and their actions seen. Many thanks to all.