STATEMENT OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT · Petrol filling station will help local businesses and bring...
Transcript of STATEMENT OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT · Petrol filling station will help local businesses and bring...
STATEMENT OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
LAND NORTH OF BURGH ROAD, AYLSHAM
DEMOLITION OF EXISTING COMMERCIAL BUILDING AND ERECTION OF
PETROL FILLING STATION WITH ANCILLARY SALES KIOSK AND
ASSOCIATED CAR PARKING
FEBRUARY 2016
Contents Statement of Community Involvement
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Contents
1. Introduction
2. Public Consultation Strategy
3. Press Coverage
4. Consultation Feedback
5. Conclusion
Lindum Group Ltd,
Lindum Business Park,
Station Road,
North Hykeham,
Lincolnshire,
LN6 3QX
T: 01522 500300
Project Title:
Demolition of existing commercial building and
erection of Petrol Filling Station with ancillary sales
kiosk and associated car parking.
Client:
Aylsham Development Ltd
Prepared By: Checked By:
Robert Jays (Development Planner) Mark Foster (Planning Manager)
1. Introduction Statement of Community Involvement
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Introduction
1.1 The aim of this Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) is to detail how the local
community and other stakeholders have been engaged regarding the proposals for land to
the north of Burgh Road in Aylsham.
1.2 This SCI includes analysis of the feedback received during the consultations, as well as
a response to the issues that have arisen, ensuring that the views of the community and
stakeholders have been taken into consideration when finalising the scheme.
1.3 The application proposal is for a Petrol Filling Station with ancillary sales kiosk and
associated car parking following the demolition of the existing kitchen and bathroom
showroom which currently occupies the site. The application includes an access from Burgh
Road including a new right hand turn lane. The development is well related to a new
roundabout junction to be constructed on the Burgh Road/A140 Junction due to be
delivered as part of a residential development to the north of the site.
1.4 Local Community Groups and key stakeholders have been consulted by way of an online
public consultation, with assistance of Aylsham Town Council who have also facilitated
contact with the relevant district councillors. As well as this the local planning authority
have been engaged through a formal pre-application process.
Fire Damaged Kitchen and Bathroom Showroom which occupies site.
2. Public Consultation Strategy Statement of Community Involvement
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Public Consultation Strategy
2.1 It was decided at an early stage that key stakeholders and local residents should be
consulted on the proposals to assist in the development of the scheme and to identify local
issues moving forward.
2.2 Initial consultation was first undertaken with Aylsham Town Council and the relevant
District Councillors. Members of the project team attended a meeting with councillors and
Broadland District Council on the 29th of September 2015 at the District Council Offices. The
meeting enabled the project team to outline initial development proposals and seek initial
feedback from the councillors. At this stage the proposals were at a very early stage with
councillors reserving comment until detailed proposals has been produced. However an
undersupply of petrol provision in and around Aylsham was noted and the principle of such
a proposal was supported.
2.3 The public consultation for the proposals took the form of an online consultation
detailing the development proposals and providing plans and visual illustrations
highlighting the development scheme. Following the meeting in September, as detailed
above, further discussions between the development team the Town Council took place.
During these discussions the Town Council agreed to advertise the consultation to the local
population. This advertisement included the following:
� Social media via Twitter post.
� Displaying a poster on the Town Council notice board and within the Town Council
office.
� Consultation information emailed to Aylsham Schools, Aylsham Library and the
local enterprise and business forum.
� Notifications sent to North Norfolk News and Just Regional (online news provider).
2.4 The online consultation was provided on the Lindum Group website, with the relevant
web-link detailed in the advertising described above. The website included a high level
description of the proposed development along with a downloadable PDF document
providing more detail on the proposals. A copy of the PDF is included as Appendix 1 of this
statement and includes plans and visuals of the proposed design and layout alongside
further text detailing the proposed development. The consultation website is shown below.
2. Public Consultation Strategy Statement of Community Involvement
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2.5 The online consultation included two options of providing feedback. The first
was via a comments tab on the bottom of the website and the second being the
option to send comments directly to the Lindum Group via the
[email protected] email address.
2.6 The consultation ran for two weeks from Monday the 4th of January to Friday
the 15th of January.
Application Site View of the current site frontage from Burgh Road. The extent of the damage to the current buildings on site.
Example of the Consultation Poster
3. Press Coverage Statement of Community Involvement
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Press Coverage
3.1 As indicated above part of the consultation included the town council issuing the
relevant information to local news outlets. News articles were published on the North
Norfolk News, Just Regional and the Street Life Aylsham websites.
3.2 All three news articles were factual in nature and did not look to make either positive
or negative comment on the proposals. As is the case with modern online news coverage,
people reading the articles are able to provide comment. A number of comments have been
made on the news websites, particularly the Just Regional website article which attracted
37 comments.
3.3 The comments made on the news articles do not form part of the consultation and have
not been considered as formal consultation responses. However it is worth noting that the
majority of comments were of a positive nature, indicating that a petrol station on Burgh
Road would be welcomed by the bulk of respondents.
3.4 The comments described above included discussion on the merits of fast food provision
on the site with particular reference made to the potential for a McDonalds or Subway
being provided on site. It is worth noting that at no stage have the proposals put forward
as part of the planning application or detailed in the public consultation referenced any fast
food provision on site. As such, no provision of fast food or restaurant premises is included
as part of the planning application.
4. Consultation Feedback Statement of Community Involvement
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Consultation Feedback
4.1 Aylsham Town Council
4.1.1 Aylsham Town Council discussed the development proposals at a Town Council
meeting on the 11th of February 2016. At the time of writing, the minutes of the meeting
were not available. However feedback was provided via email from the Town Clerk with the
indication that the concept of a petrol filling station was supported by councillors. It was
noted that a final judgement from the Town Council would be reserved until full details of
the application was available. In addition to this the Clerk conveyed comments from the
local residents including concerns on the road network and landscaping of the scheme.
4.2 Results of the Public Consultation
4.2.1 The responses to the development proposals have been relatively significant in terms
of numbers with the vast majority of responses being very positive. In total 87 responses
were received by a combination of emails to the [email protected] email
address and through the consultation website.
4.2.2 Of the 87 responses received 80 people expressed support or support with
reservations for the scheme, which equates to a 92% support rate. The other 7 responses
included 6 people (7%) objecting to the proposals with one person (1%) neither supporting
or objecting to the proposals. This clearly highlights the overwhelming levels of support for
the scheme.
4.2.3 The consultation responses included a number of further comments from people in
addition to their support or objection to the scheme. It is worth noting that in line with the
92% support rate for the proposals, the vast majority of additional comments were in
support of the scheme. This support includes a large number of people confirming the need
for petrol provision in Aylsham.
79%
13%
1%
7%
CONSUTLATION RESPONSES - DO YOU
SUPPORT THE PROPOSALS?
Yes Yes with reservations. Neutral No
4. Consultation Feedback Statement of Community Involvement
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Comment Response
Petrol Station in Aylsham needed. Noted.
Under provision of petrol in the local area. Noted. Proposals put forward to help meet the shortfall of petrol provision around
the town.
HGV provision should be included in the proposals. The end operator of the scheme has looked at the potential for HGV provision on
site. It is felt that such provision would not be economically viable in terms of the
business model for a Filling Station in this location.
Support for a Food Store on site. Noted. Ancillary sales kiosk to be taken forward in application proposals.
Welcome the road improvements proposed as part of the development. Noted. Right hand turn lane proposed to enable satisfactory road conditions in
relation to the proposals on Burgh Road. Scheme will also relate well to the future
delivery of the A140/Burgh Road roundabout.
Opposition to fast food provision on site. A fast food retail unit is not included within the development proposals and will
not be part of the application. The Lindum Group have never indicated that such
provision will be included in the development proposals.
Screening along the site boundary needed to mitigate impact on local properties. A detailed landscaping scheme is not included as part of the application proposals.
The Lindum Group would accept a condition that would allow a soft landscaping
scheme to be considered once/if permission is granted.
Support for a petrol station in Aylsham, but consider better locations to be
available.
The Lindum Group and the end user of the scheme both consider the site on Burgh
Road to be an ideal location for a petrol filling station. Development of the scheme
not only provides a much needed filling station but also replaces an eyesore on a
prominent entrance to the town.
Burgh Road is not suitable, road is too narrow and very busy. A transport assessment has been completed for the site. The assessment shows
that the additional traffic generated by the scheme will not reduce highway safety
and can be accommodated in the local road network. The provision of a right hand
turn lane will improve conditions on Burgh Road.
Petrol filling station will help local businesses and bring business into the town. Noted. The Lindum Group believe that the proposals will have a positive impact on
the economy in the area.
Opposed to petrol filling station provision. Research has indicated a shortfall in petrol provision in Aylsham. This has been
supported by the vast majority of people responding to the public consultation.
Object to standard designs. Proposals should have more architectural merit. The design proposals are very much in accordance with the business model of the
end user and we consider them to be a suitable design response to the constraints
of the site. When considered in conjunction with the proposed new roundabout
the proposed filling station will provide a significant visual improvement to this
prominent location on the entrance to Aylsham.
4. Consultation Feedback Statement of Community Involvement
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4.2.4 As highlighted earlier in paragraph 4.4, the majority of the comments made during
the application focused on positive aspects of the proposed development, particularly the
need for petrol provision in Aylsham. In addition to this strong support was shown for the
retail outlet element of the proposals. The level of positive comments made during the
consultation was commensurate with the level of support shown on the proposals.
Therefore at least 90% of the comments made during the consultation where of a positive
nature and again highlights the considerate support for the scheme highlighted by the
consultation process.
4.2.5 Some concern has been expressed from people responding to the consultation
regarding the suitability of the local road network, particularly Burgh Road. A transport
assessment has been submitted as part of the planning application which indicates that the
traffic generated by the proposed development will not adversely affect highway safety and
can be accommodated within the local road network. Part of the development proposals
include for a ghost island arrangement junction with a right hand turn lane for traffic
accessing the site travelling into Aylsham. There proposals will improve the conditions on
Burgh Road and prevent congestion created by traffic accessing the petrol station. In
addition to these direct improvements, the scheme will also benefit from the planned
roundabout junction on the Burgh Road/A140 Junction. This roundabout will further assist
in improving road safety on what is perceived to be dangerous junction in responses to our
public consultation.
4.2.6 Several responses to the public consultation showed concern regarding the proposed
design of the development with views expressed that the scheme should be of a higher
standard of design. The Lindum Group believe the design is of high quality and the proposals
represent a suitable design response in relation to the constraints posed by the site. The
design fits with the business model of the end user and is a suitable proposal for a petrol
filling station. The Lindum Group certainly believe that when combined with the new
roundabout, the development proposals will result in a significant visual improvement
when considered against the current site including the derelict and dilapidated building.
5. Conclusion Statement of Community Involvement
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Conclusion
5.1 An extensive process of consultation has been completed as part of the planning
application, including a meeting with the town council and a widely publicised online
consultation. In total 87 comments were made during the two week consultation period.
5.2 Alongside the formal consultation process, a number of news outlets detailed the
development proposals. The Just Regional, North Norfolk News and Street Life Aylsham
websites all featured news articles on the consultation including details of the development
proposals. All three websites attracted comments from readers and whilst these have not
been considered as part of the consultation, it is worth noting that in the main the
comments were very positive.
5.3 The response to the consultation was overwhelmingly positive with 92% of the
consultees supporting the development proposals. The prominent theme of the responses
was a focus of support for a petrol filling station in Aylsham which was considered to be
much needed and long overdue. This support was replicated in an initial response from the
Town Council who expressed support for the principle of a petrol filling station while
reserving final judgement until the full plans become available.
5.4 Some concern was expressed about the design of the scheme and highways safety on
the local road network, but there concerns were expressed by a small minority of the
consultees who responded. Responses to these comments are included in section 4 and do
not necessitate any changes to the development proposals at this stage.
Appendices Statement of Community Involvement
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Appendix 1
Appendices Statement of Community Involvement
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