The Coalition correctly scrapped the former RSS process of top down centrally dictated development criteria for local communities and replaced it with a Local Develpment Framework. B&NES is now about to consult on its draft proposal. The new system is a lot quicker than the previous one but will still take time. The initial consultation period lasts until early February.

The document contains nearly all the demands and suggestions from the extensive Liberal Democrat submission. However the ruling Conservative group of the Council still insist on putting in paragraphs that push agendas which are unnacceptable to residents in Bath. Their concentration on the needs of commuters into Bath at the expense of residents is best shown by the obsession with a 1.2 mile tarmac bus race track through the back gardens of Newbridge and Kingsmead. This and a few other paragrahs meant that at Council we could not support the document but have allowed it to proceed to consultation.

We will now work to get a large amount of responses to the consultation and ensure the public is fully engaged with the policy.  Links for further information

WebLink      NEW DRAFT CONSULTATION

and for the consultation itself which will start on the 16th December click on this:- Consultation Calendar

Our press release follows:-

For immediate release: Friday, 3 December 2010

Lib Dem response to B&NES Core Strategy

Commenting on the adoption of the Bath and North East Somerset Core Strategy by full Council last night, Councillor Paul Crossley (Southdown), leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said:

“This draft Core Strategy is generally a good document and will form a good basis for the forthcoming consultation. Officers and members from the working group should be congratulated for their hard work. The Liberal Democrats responded to the Core Strategy options consultation earlier this year with a full position statement. We are delighted to see that so many of the priorities and issues on which we have campaigned were included in the Core Strategy consultation draft. We are particularly pleased about the new housing targets which are much lower and more realistic than those the previous government was trying to impose on the local area. We joined residents in campaigning against the proposed urban extensions in B&NES and so we are delighted at the commitment in the paper to protect the green belt and rule out urban extensions. Unfortunately some of the details of the document include policies that we just cannot vote for, such as the new bus road the Cabinet are determined to build through Newbridge towards the city centre. As a group we opted to abstain in the vote and, rather than tabling a series of amendments, we will be submitting a further consultation response to the draft core strategy ahead of the examination in public next year. We will also work with local residents to encourage the maximum response to the Core Strategy consultation so that we can end up with the best possible result.”

ENDS