This weekend's Update e-mail

Here's the text of the Update E-mail sent to everyone this weekend:

A short update on a couple of matters for you this week

Special Planning Board – Hospital Plans for Wessex Fields and Riverside Avenue

A reminder that there will be a meeting of the Planning Board to consider Royal Bournemouth Hospital’s plans for expansion on to the Wessex Fields site in Riverside Avenue this coming Monday at 6pm in the Council Chamber at the Town Hall.

I am attaching a copy of the agenda for the meeting in both word and pdf format for you.

You can view the planning applications on this link:

http://www.bournemouth.gov.uk/Residents/Planning_Development/
Planning_Board/Planning_board_speacial_31_july_2006.asp

I’ll be attending the meeting and speaking in favour of the applications as the best use of the land. I do have concerns though over the additional traffic and believe that any expansion of the hospital must of course provide sufficient parking for the extra staff and visitors envisaged.


Dog Bin – Corhampton Road area

Most people thought the corner of Hambledon Road and Christchurch Rd to be the best site for the dog bin. To confirm where exactly it is going to go I attach a picture of the site (see above). It will be installed next to the street sign and should be installed in the next week or so.

Planning Applications – Call in to Planning Board by members of the public

I’m pleased to say that we overturned a proposal from the Planning Department this week that only councillors could call a planning application to be considered by the Planning Board and only then when a planning officer had confirmed that there were legitimate planning grounds to do so.

This would, for example, have resulted in the Southwick Road Mast application not being called in to the Planning Board, as the officers believed that there were no planning grounds for it to be refused!

I was supported by my colleagues in the council in objecting to this and ensuring that residents can still call an application in to the Planning Board whenever there are more than 10 letters of objection.