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Monday February 23 - Special Village meeting - Freddie Dawkins (16th Feb 2004 - 23:35:54) Dear All - Just a reminder that next Monday's Parish Council meeting will be an unusual one. The main part of the evening will be devoted to debate about the proposals for development of the remaining parts of the former OSU site. The plans and stuff which were on show at the Millennium Centre recently will be on display again but you'll be able to hear Councillors debating the ideas - and have the opportunity to join the debate in the public debate sections of the evening. Given some of the comments at the last Planning Forum, I think this is a great time to air all public views. Some of the critical issues: 1. Should housing be allowed on a designated Employment area? 2. Will a mix of housing/retail/office/factory units work well in the position? 3. What do we need most in the village - jobs or housing? This is not the end of the development trail but it is a major milestone towards giving feedback to both local and district councillors - and the various officials - who will be part of the final planning decisions. So, The Village Hall, Headley Road, 8pm, Monday February 23. And if you have not been there yet - a chance to see the Village Hall improvements and what some of your money has been spent on. rgds to all here Freddie Dawkins Parish Councillor

Re: Monday February 23 - Special Village meeting - Freddie Dawkins (24th Feb 2004 - 09:27:33) Last night's meeting, dominated by the discussion on future development of the remaining OSU land, was pretty well attended, with 14 members of the public and press taking part in the public planning process. It was clear that the majority of Parishoners were against having any further housing on the OSU site and would much prefer to see a good quality development of employment buildings, with a mix of shops/retail/office/light industrial buildings. The 4 separate parts of the applications were each discussed at length and the Parish Council's position is that they want to promote employment and would object to further housing - although there could be some merit in having smaller units - such as flats - above the retail units. One of the developer's architects attended the meeting and was fairly unhappy with criticism of his firm's efforts - in particular the fact that they had ignored the previous planning agreements to only have employment development on the site, and he appeared personally aggrieved when there was criticism of the old-fashioned and fairly boring designs which had been submitted - which look as if they'd add nothing to the street scene and almost encircle the Village Green. Several parish councillors made the point that the land, once developed, would be gone and this was a last chance to make use of a central site in the village, to improve employment prospects. Full, official, minutes of the meeting will be available from the Parish Office, in the next few days. rgds to all here Freddie Dawkins Parish Councillor

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