Stroud District Council (SDC) have set a rather tight deadline to respond to the developers planning application.
Its’ important that you submit your opinion to SDC even though you have done so before and the Sharpness Development was recently turned down by the Planning Inspector.
It will take less than 5 mins to respond so please make your thoughts and opinions known!
Make sure you quote the planning reference in the title of your email: S.25/0417/OUT
Gold Response! It would be ideal if you could fully outline your objection as this would provide more weight to our argument. To assist you you can find an overview of our main concerns on our Issues page. If you still have a response you have written from a previous consultation round you could use this.
Silver Response Any comment from you, no matter how long would be great. The more you write in your own words the more powerful your response will be. Rather than commenting on all the issues you may just comment on an issue closest to your heart e.g. roads, environment, facilities etc. It doesn’t need to be long, just representative of your views.
Bronze Response Alternatively if you are short of time just insert ‘I support the position of BaSRAG and the Planning Inspector for the Local Plan’ and you can attach the response we have put together below. Any response is better than no response at all!
Stroud District Council have today issued a press release stating that they have requested ‘a short pause’ in the Examination of the draft Local Plan. They have also published letters between them and the Inspectors.
The reality behind this press release is that the Inspectors suggested that the Council should consider withdrawing the draft Plan because of their significant concerns over its soundness. They do not believe that there are adequate plans in place to cope with the additional traffic, particularly at motorway junctions, created by new sites such as Sharpness.
They are also entirely unconvinced by the proposals for a rail link and other public transport solutions at Sharpness, as we have been arguing for years.
The Council, rather than withdraw the Plan, have asked for more time to come up with solutions to the issues raised. This short pause would appear to be a period of six months, although it remains to be seen how the Inspectors will respond to this.
This is by no means the end of the road for the proposed new town at Sharpness but nonetheless it presents a significant hurdle for the site promoters and the council.
It is very heartening that many of the points that many of you have made during this process have been heard by the people tasked to examine the evidence.
It must be said it is unlikely to be riveting viewing – Happy Valley, it ain’t! However, we will be following proceedings and participating in some of the sessions.All details are shown on this page of the council website –
It is encouraging to see that a number of organisations with views similar to our own will be represented. The day when the proposed new development at Sharpness will be specifically discussed is provisionally scheduled for 22nd March, while many of the other sessions will have some relevance to Berkeley and Sharpness.
The final outcome is unlikely to be known for some months, but if there is anything to report in the meantime, we will of course let you know.
Many thanks as always for your support.Best wishes,
BaSRAG (Berkeley and Sharpness Residents’ Action Group)
The New Year brings news of the SDC local plan hearings by the Planning inspectorate. If you responded to the consultation you will have received emails advising you of this.
The hearings will commence at 10am on Tuesday 7th March 2023, and close on 25th May 2023 (inclusive of a reserve week, with breaks in between). Full details on the dates are published in the Council’s Public Notice.
The dates relevant specifically to this area are: 22nd March – Sharpness 5th May – Berkeley
The hearing sessions will be live streamed on to the Council’s YouTube channel , more details will be available on the Council’s website closer to the hearings, including a virtual guidance note from the Inspectors.
It will be interesting to hear SDC’s responses to the numerous questions put to them by the Planning inspectorate which you can find in the document below. This runs to a whopping 80 pages including 20 question on PS36 Sharpness new settlement (pages 15-17). In addition questions on The Berkeley cluster site allocations can be found on pages 40-42. It’s pleasing to see that these reflect the issues we have raised which have not been addressed by SDC or the developers:
The Sharpness line has NOT been successful in securing ‘Restoring your Railway’ funding. This is a second failed bid. As so much of the proposed development plan for this area was based around the re-opening of the line, let’s hope the planning Inspectorate seriously considers this when assessing it’s viability.
The deadline has passed and we hope you managed to get your comments submitted to the Inspector. We’ve had plenty of engagement with the community so we are hopeful the Planning Inspector will have a clear understanding of your thoughts on the Local Plan.
Attached below is the extensive response from BaSRAG. We would like to thank all of the people who have contributed. It’s taken a lot of work, however you will see by the number of topics covered and evidence provided we feel we have a very strong case to put to the Inspector.
There will be a moment of calm as the responses are collated by SDC however we will keep you updated as soon as they confirm the next steps.
Enjoy the summer!
Best wishes
BaSRAG (Berkeley and Sharpness Residents Action Group)
Follow the instructions below. If it’s easier you can open a printable version of the instructions at the bottom of this page.
Scroll Down to the bottom of the page and under ‘Declaration’ tick to say you have understood the general advice then click the ‘Next Page’ button.
Enter your contact details and then click the ‘Next Page’ button.
Scroll Down to the bottom of the page and then click the ‘Next Page’ button.
Q1 – Tick ‘Yes’ Q2- Do you consider the site allocations to be ‘Legally Compliant’ – Leave blank ‘Sound’ – Tick ‘No’ ‘Complies with the Duty to Cooperate’ – Leave blank
Q3a-Q6b – Feel free to object or support these areas as you see fit. Simply tick to support, object or leave blank. Leave your comments in the box provided. BaSRAG is not opposed to all development in the area, rather we do not agree on the disproportionate allocation proposed by site PS36.
Q7a PS36 Sharpness new settlement
Tick to ‘Object’
In the box you can add your comments.
Gold Response! It would be ideal if you could fully outline your objection as this would provide more weight to our argument. To assist you you can find an overview of our main concerns on our Issues page. If you still have a response you have written from a previous consultation round you could use this.
Silver Response Any comment from you, no matter how long would be great. The more you write in your own words the more powerful your response will be. Rather than commenting on all the issues you may just comment on an issue closest to your heart e.g. roads, environment, facilities etc. It doesn’t need to be long, just representative of your views.
Bronze Response Alternatively if you are short of time just insert ‘I support the position of BaSRAG’ and you can attach the response we have put together at the end of the process. Any response is better than no response at all!
Q7b – Add any comments you have otherwise leave blank
Q8a/b – Feel free to object or support this area as you see fit. Simply tick to support, object or leave blank. Leave your comments in the box provided.
Scroll Down to the bottom of the page and then click the ‘Next Page’ button.
Q9 onwards – Feel free to object or support these areas as you see fit. Simply tick to support, object or leave blank. Leave your comments in the box provided.
Otherwise tick ‘No I have no further comments to make and would now like to submit myresponse.‘
Scroll Down to the bottom of the page and then click the ‘Next Page’ button.
You can now upload any supporting documents. Feel free to download and save the response we have put together to support your own response:
Click ‘Choose File’ and then choose our Response Document
Scroll Down to the bottom of the page and then click the ‘Next Page’ button.
Q162 – We would recommend you choose ‘Yes’ to all of these to keep up to date. Q163a/b – Answer how you see fit. If in doubt choose ‘No‘ for 163a and leave 163b ‘blank’
Scroll Down to the bottom of the page and then click the ‘Finish Survey’ button.
Should you have any questions or difficulties please do not hesitate to contact us.
Since our last newsletter, we have been in contact with the council and others about the methods they are making available for responding to the consultation.
Our main issue at this stage is how difficult they are making it for concerned members of the public to effectively have their voices heard. At the moment, there is simply the choice of filling out a lengthy online questionnaire, or completing a shorter form and sending it in by email or post.
We are hoping sense will prevail, but are not overly optimistic. Either way, in the coming weeks, we will aim to give you practical advice about the best way to participate.
To remind you where you can find the various pieces of information: The full draft Local Plan is here:
We are going through the proposals carefully to make sure we are marshalling all the key arguments. While we are awaiting definitive guidance on ways to participate in the consultation, you may want to start thinking about what case you want to make to the independent Inspector. We would suggest concentrating on issues of particular interest to you, eg the environment, transport, general lack of infrastructure, etc.
We will update our website with comments about the key issues as soon as possible.
Thanks once again for all your support. Please make sure your friends and family are fully aware of what is going on, and signed up for our newsletters or to our Facebook page, so that they get the latest advice.
Best wishes,
BaSRAG (Berkeley and Sharpness Residents’ Action Group)
Very much like earlier stages of this process, the council has not made it easy for concerned people to examine the Plan but you can see the section of the plan as it relates to Berkeley and Sharpness here –
This section contains the plans not just for the massive so-called garden village with up to 5,000 houses by 2050, but also the other sites in and around Berkeley and Sharpness, totalling another 540 houses.
BaSRAG will be checking this updated Plan closely to establish what changes there are, if any, to the previously published plans for our area. We will then at the weekend send you updated guidance as to the best way to respond to the consultation.
Remember, this time your responses will be put before an independent Inspector. You may think, with some justification, that your previous comments have largely been ignored by the council. We have good reason, based on other public examinations around the country, to believe that the Inspector will take notice of strong, rational arguments.
In the meantime, can we ask again if you know of any experts out there that have good knowledge of specialist fields such as the environment, transport, employment, planning etc that can help us to pick holes in the so-called evidence base for these plans.
Apologies for asking you again to take part in yet another consultation, but we believe this is our best chance yet for common sense to prevail.
We will be in touch again at the weekend.
Best wishes,
BaSRAG (Berkeley and Sharpness Residents’ Action Group)
Berkeley and Sharpness Residents Action Group (BaSRAG) 