The Neighbourhood Plan Working Group have produced a commentary on the application for outline planning permission, recently submitted by the Church Commissioners. It is intended to help individuals and the Parish Council form a view on the application and submit comments to the local planning authority. Those wishing to submit comments should do so as soon as possible. You can see the commentary here
It is with regret that Anna Reed and her owls are unable to come to the Village Hall this evening.
We hope to rearrange the date for later this year.
Please note that the published deadline for individuals to comment on the application is 20th February. The parish council has asked for an extension which we understand will be granted. It is not possible formally to grant a similar extension to individuals. However, we have been advised by the Principal Planning Officer that “any comments received up to the point of determination would be taken into consideration”. Since the application will not be determined until at least after comments from the parish council have been received, we believe that it is best for the village to hold the public meeting, as planned, on Sunday 23rd February.
Neighbourhood Plan Working Group
The parish council has booked the village hall on Sunday 23rd February from 4.00 – 6.00 for a public meeting to consider the church commissioners’ proposals for Roughmoor Lane. Although this is after the quoted date for submitting comments the PC has asked for an extension and such requests are normally granted.
Full details of the application (43 documents in all) can be found on the Somerset Planning Portal by quoting the reference 2025/0137/OUT.
Alternatively the Design and Access Statement, which provides a full overview of the proposals, can be accessed from the village website.
The purpose of the meeting is to help villagers understand what is proposed and assist them to form a judgement and submit individual comments if they so wish. The Neighbourhood Plan Working Group, set up to advise the PC, will be able to advise on how to frame comments that carry weight in planning terms. In due course the PC will consider the proposals itself, taking into account the views expressed in this and other forums.
An applicatiion for outline planning permission for the Roughmoor Lane site has now been submitted by the church commissioners. See this article which shows how to access the full details
A reminder that Tickbox Marketing will be providing a training session on how to update our village website pages, in the village hall on Thurs 21st November starting at 7:00 p.m.
Bring your laptop/tablet or just come to watch and listen! Please let the Clerk know that you are coming.
Further details are on the website Events calendar, and in the PEW.
In recent weeks there have been two instances of houses in the Station Road / Bell Close area being broken into and things taken. It would be wise to check your security arrangements and be especially alert to suspicious activity.
As announced in the PEW, there will be a meeting in the village hall on Wednesday 16th October at 7.30pm to consider a draft set of aims and objectives for the Westbury Neighbourhood Plan. The draft has been drawn up by the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group and is based on feedback on village priorities from surveys and meetings held over the last 18 month. Once agreed, it will the basis for formulating the policies to be set out in the plan.
A number of focus groups have been held over the past few weeks which have enabled residents to say whether they think the draft accurately represents the views of the community. The village hall meeting will be another such opportunity to comment, fine tune and consider next steps.. Those present will also be able to consider which of the agreed aims and objectives it might be possible to achieve through planning policy and which would need to be pursued in other ways.
The Mendip Hills National Landscape (formerly the AONB) have launched a consultation designed to inform their management plan for the years 2025 -2030. You can access the consultation HERE. This is separate from, and much broader than, the recent consultation on proposals for changes at Deer Leap which is still open HERE
Mendip Hills National Landscape (formerly AONB) have launched a consultation about plans to develop the car park and surrounding area at Deer Leap. The consultation is open until the end of September. The proposed changes include some remodelling of the area around the car park to improve access and to help reduce anti-social behaviour. You can review the plans and respond to the consultation here.
