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)
The deadline for making submissions to the latest housing consultation is Wednesday 16th December.
BaSRAG has now submitted its views. In summary, they are that:
• If additional housing is required, we support a hybrid solution of options A (intensify housing within urban extension sites) & C (additional growth points)
• These new growth points at Whitminster and Moreton Valence / Hardwicke are far more sustainable in terms of employment potential and infrastructure than the one proposed at Sharpness
• We do not support the approach of identifying a reserve site or sites in case allocated sites do not come forward. Instead the council should be reviewing the whole Local Plan in the light of the significant potential new sites and evidence that has belatedly emerged since the original proposals.
If you wish to read our full submission, it can be seen by clicking the button below.
You are obviously free to ‘borrow’ as much or as little of our material as you wish.
If you are concerned about the huge development planned for Berkeley and Sharpness, please contribute to the consultation, either by completing the questionnaire or in writing. All the options for submissions are:
Stroud District Council is conducting a new consultation about the Local Plan. In summary, they are asking the public their views on –
What approach they should take if they are required by government to build even more houses than currently planned (or if some sites already earmarked get removed from the process at a later stage)
More specific sites that have come forward since the last consultation
The full consultation paper together with background papers and Powerpoint presentations can be seen at the council’s website – https://www.stroud.gov.uk/localplanreview
We of course hope you will take the time to read the consultation document and let the council know what you think about it. You can write, email or complete their online questionnaire.
The questionnaire asks you first what you think about four possible approaches they could take when deciding how and where to provide additional housing. Those options are, broadly –
A. To build more intensively on sites already identified close to existing larger urban centres
B. Look for more sites at the smaller towns and larger villages
C. A new growth point for a large settlement – similar to the one proposed for ‘Sharpness Vale’ but more sustainably positioned. Two potential locations have been identified along the A38 corridor and close to the motorway.
D. Wider dispersal amongst smaller villages, as well as those identified under option B.
We strongly believe that a hybrid approach combining option A and Option C is the best one as it is entirely consistent with our argument that any development should be sustainable in terms of employment and transport links. Increasing densities at sites adjacent to existing urban areas and the new potential growth points further up the A38 and closer to Gloucester and Cheltenham tick those boxes far more than 5,000 houses built on the banks of the Severn, remote from any significant employment opportunities or major transport links.
The online questionnaire is a bit less complicated than those produced at previous stages of this process. It asks you first for your opinions on the four possible options as outlined above. It then goes on to ask about specific sites that have come forward since the last iteration of the Plan. These include two smallish sites in Berkeley.
We shall be strongly supporting the intensification of sites close to existing urban centres and new growth point developments at Whitminster and Moreton Valence.
The council asks that we do not repeat arguments that we have made at previous stages of this process; however, a positive support of different, better positioned, more sustainable growth points succinctly emphasises how unsuitable Sharpness is!
Whether or not the current government plans to increase housing numbers go ahead, these options are a much better alternative to the proposal to build houses in such huge numbers at ‘Sharpness Vale’.
The final part of the questionnaire asks for your comments on the Sustainability Appraisal which is a 127 page document commissioned to analyse the suitability (or otherwise) of the approaches and sites discussed in the current consultation. If you read the entire document – congratulations! Whether you choose to comment on it in the questionnaire is entirely optional.
The consultation runs until 16th December.
Finally, and as a bit of an aside, those eagle-eyed readers of the consultation document may notice that the basic maps shown alongside the main strategy options have got the rail link from Sharpness drawn in. Obviously, this is intended to make Sharpness appear more sustainable, but to rely on a link which won’t exist for at least 20 years if at all is, in our view, quite outrageous!
If you have any queries or need any help, please get in touch at contact@basrag.com
Berkeley and Sharpness Residents Action Group (BaSRAG) 