Westmoreland Bath

We  have again complained to the council about the travellers on The Herman Miller site.

We have asked that the travellers are moved on as soon as possible as they are making  quite a nuisence of themselves.

The site is also owned by Lidl who have listed building planning consent to put a supermarket on this site.

We have two planning applications in Westmoreland this month and both relate to the Wellsway Garage on the Lower Bristol Road.

The first application is for the display of 1 no internally illuminated fascia sign and 1 no MINI letters, 4 illuminated flagpoles, one internally and externally illuminated pylon and 2 no non illuminated free standing offer signs at Wellsway Mini Wellsway Garage Lower Bristol Road.

The date the application was first registered was 18th November 2008 and has a decision date of 13th January 2009. The application reference number is 08/04142/AR and you can view the application by following the link on the application number.

The Second application is for the display of internally illuminated free standing signs at Wellsway BMW Wellsway Garage Lower Bristol Road

This application was first registered on 18th November 2008 and has a decision date of 13th January 2009. The application reference number is 08/04254/AR and you can view the application 08/04254/AR.

Any representations on these applications should be made in writing to Development Control, Trimbridge House, Trim Street, Bath BA1 2DP.  Alternatively representations can be made using the Planning Service pages of the Council’s website www.bathnes.gov.uk.  All representation must arrive no later than the 20th December 2008.

A Bath Liberal Democrat Councillor has written to Margaret Beckett MP, the new Minister for Housing, calling on her to carry on the work of her predecessor to give local authorities powers to tackle ‘studentification’.

In September the Government had announced a Green Paper which was a step towards finally giving Councils the planning powers to dilute high concentrations of student houses or ‘Houses in Multiple Occupation” (HMOs) in specific areas of their authorities.

Bath Liberal Democrat Councillors have been campaigning on this issue for a long time.

We were delighted when we heard in September that the Government was finally beginning to make moves on the ‘studentification’ issue. However a Government reshuffle followed and there is always the risk that the initiatives of the previous incumbent may be quietly dropped.

Councils need the substantive tools to address the development and growth of large clusters of student houses in University towns and cities – as in Oldfield Park in Bath for example – through the planning system. The Government’s suggestion of allowing local Councils to use planning restraint policies and ‘Use Class Orders’ to control concentrations of student houses and to help create more balanced, sustainable communities was therefore most welcome and when implemented will help improve the availability of affordable housing.

In writing to the new Housing Minister, to call on her to carry on the work on the draft Green Paper on neighbourhood studentification, We hope to get a commitment to this initiative and to the previously proposed timetable. Local Councils have been waiting for the powers to act on ‘studentification’ for a long time.