Any comment or info about proposed housing development south of Roughmoor Lane

Roughmoor Lane Proposals – New Papers

Two papers produced following the Church Commissioners presentation on 10th July are now available on the village website here. One contains the response of the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group to the proposals; the other is a record of points made at a village meeting to discuss the proposals, held on 24th July. Both have been made available to Lichfields, the agents for the commissioners.

Village Meeting Wednesday 24th July

A reminder that there will be a meeting in the village hall at 7.30 pm on 24th July to consider the latest proposals from the Church Commissioners for development at Roughmoor Lane. Details of the plans will be available in the hall and can also be found on their website here.

At our request, the deadline for submitting comments on these proposals has been extended until July 31st. The commissioners anticipate submitting a formal application for outline planning permission in the autumn when there will be a further opportunity to comment.

Roughmoor Lane Developments.

 

There will be a meeting in the village hall at 7.30 pm on Wednesday 24th July to discuss the latest developments in relation to the Church Commissioners proposals for land at Roughmoor Lane. The meeting will provide

  • An opportunity for those who could not attend the presentation by the commissioners on the 10th to see the new proposals.
  • The opportunity to see a summary of the comments recorded by villagers attending on the 10th in our ‘exit poll’
  • A reminder of the resources available to villagers to inform any comments they might wish to make and an outline of the probable timetable
  • A chance to contribute ideas on how the village ought to respond to a planning application as and when one is submitted

Neighbourhood Plan Working Group on behalf of the Parish Council

Roughmoor Lane Consultation

This poster draws attention to a consultation on proposed developments south of Roughmoor Lane arranged by the Church Commissioners. Please bring it to the attention of any friends and neighbours who might be unable to receive this post. Copies are being placed around the village.

Please note that as of 26/06/24 the link to the website does not work. We will let you know when it is operational.

The church commissioners have also put up notices indicating that they have asked for permission to demolish the modern barns adjacent to Court House Farm.

Roughmoor Lane A date for your diary

A date for your diary. We understand that the Church Commissioners have booked the village hall for the afternoon and early evening of Wednesday 10th July for a pre-application consultation on their latest plans for development south of Roughmoor Lane. We will let people know further details as and when they supply them.

Mick Fletcher on behalf of the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group

Update on Developments at Roughmoor Lane

A number of documents have been added to the Roughmoor Lane pages of the village website and can be accessed here.  They include information received by the Parish Council from Litchfields, a copy of advice on the application from Mendip Planners and a summary of the advice given to the Parish Council by the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group as at 3rd May 2023.

Roughmoor Lane – Latest information from the Church Commissioners Agents

Litchfields, the agents for the Church Commissioners, recently briefed parish councillors about their revised plans for development at Roughmoor Lane.  A note, describing what they told us about their plans, can be found here

There will be a chance to ask questions and begin thinking about a village response at a special meeting in the village hall on 1st March from 6.30 to 7.30.  Details are here 

There will be a longer opportunity to think about how to respond on 19th March at 4.00pm in the village hall.  It is hoped that by then Litchfields will have provided more detailed written information that can be shared.

Please could the village Eyes and Ears share this information with their neighbours in their usual way.  If you let me know how many paper copies you need to inform those not on-line I will arrange for them to be left for you to collect in the village shop.

New proposals for housing development at Roughmoor Lane

The Parish Council has been told that the Church Commissioners have prepared new proposals for housing development on land off Roughmoor Lane and expect to present them to the council and the village in late February / early March. To read more about this please follow the link here

 

Roughmoor Lane Developments – Update

Litchfields, the agents for the Church Commissioners, have just written to the clerk to the parish council to say that they have still not managed to hold a meeting with the planning department at Mendip.  They have therefore asked to defer any meeting with the parish council until the New Year.  Further updates will be posted as soon as anything further is known.

Roughmoor Lane Developments – Village Responses

On Saturday 18th February a questionnaire concerning the church commissioners’ proposals for development at Roughmoor lane was sent to residents of Westbury- sub-Mendip. It was circulated by the distribution system set up by the parish council emergency planning committee. The system, developed throughout the covid pandemic, is designed to contact every household in the village via email, or, where this is not possible, via paper copies.

Over 250 people, around a third of the adult population, responded and a summary of the results is given below.  A PowerPoint presentation containing the results is available on the village website.

The numbers participating in the survey are impressive given that the average turnout in the much better advertised local government elections is also around 35% and indicates the level of interest in this application. Although it is difficult to be certain, those responding appear to be broadly representative of the village community.

The survey divided houses in the village into 5 areas – those living along the A371 and those north and south of the road, each of these latter areas split east and west.  The responses received closely reflected the number of houses in each area.  It is clear therefore that a majority of responses were from people not in the area immediately facing the development who might be expected to have specific and strongly held views on the matter and can be taken as an indication of village opinion as a whole.

The survey respondents were in the main elderly (51% aged 65+) retired (46.2%) and in households without children (81%) Compared with the 2011 census data those over the age of 75 seem overrepresented and those in the 25-44 age group underrepresented.  Two thirds of responses, however, came from those aged 45-74 and this is not out of line with the proportions shown in the earlier census data (63%)

This possible bias towards older residents might help explain the level of interest in bungalows suitable for older people wanting to downsize. It may understate the level of interest in other types of housing.

In terms of specific issues,

  • a substantial majority of those responding (88%) felt that any new development should reflect the village dark skies policy.
  • the most popular choice for use of any community space was for a new village hall (51%) with other choices divided between allotments, parking, playing fields and ‘other’ which seemed to mean a larger village shop / cafe;
  • very high numbers indicated that several issues of concern were very important to them with the most frequently cited being pedestrian safety (223) and traffic access onto the A371 (210).
  • Substantial numbers indicated that with safer walking and cycling routes they would reduce car use within the village (162, walking) and between villages (122, cycling).
  • A clear majority (58%) felt that any entrance to new development should be kept separate from Roughmoor Lane.

A number of questions asked about housing and housing needs. Thirty people (12% of respondents) said that someone in their family had had to leave the village because of a shortage of affordable housing within the last five years. Some 58 people, just under a quarter of all responses, felt that a family member might have to leave for the same reason within the next five.   It reinforces anecdotal evidence that the existing housing stock provides few opportunities for the young or the less affluent to remain in Westbury.

Similarly, forty-three people (17%) felt that they or a family member might have to leave because of a lack of smaller properties suitable for downsizing.  When asked what type of property would best meet their needs if they wished to relocate within the village in future, 50% said a bungalow.

There were three open questions in the survey asking people for their single greatest concern about the church commissioners’ proposals, the most positive aspect of them, and finally an opportunity to make any other comments. Not everyone took this opportunity, but the answers show a consistent pattern

Q What is your single greatest concern about the Church Commissioners’ proposals for Roughmoor Lane?

  1. Too many houses                                        59

2.Road traffic issues                                             54

3.Overdevelopment in general                           42

4.Environmental issues.                                      11

5.Fear of creeping growth/distrust of CC            9

6.Community use area and placement.             6

 

Q What do you feel is the most positive aspect of the proposed development?

  1. possibility of affordable/social housing and downsizing opportunities        58
  2. nothing to like in these proposals                                                                  52
  3. More families to keep the shop, school, pub and church going                    28
  4. Opportunity to improve village amenity (if brown field site is included)       21
  5. May improve road and footpath access and safe crossing of A371              13
  6. Provides for community progression and growth                                         10
  7. Recognition of environmental issues (including respect for wildlife)              6

 

Q Is there anything else you would like to say about the development proposed by the Church Commissioners?

1.Lack of consideration of community needs                      39

  1. New housing needs to be sensitively developed       34
  2. Overdevelopment for the size of village                     19

4.Shortsightedness of not including the brownfield site     12

  1. Environmental issues (wildlife, dark skies, etc.)           10
  2. Traffic and pedestrian safety)                                        7
  3. I just want to say no to any development here             7
  4. Fears of creeping growth                                              4