Observations On Draft Vision
From "Draft Vision"
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Some comments on the Draft Vision -
Para 1 - is it only green growth which will provide this, or is it growth, including green growth?? What if green growth is curtailed, or simply doesn't happen??
Para 2 - presumably we want to attract a younger workforce, whilst motivating, re-skilling and retaining those already there, and attracting the right, new older workforce too??
Para 3 - housing - should this call out the need for appropriate build standards, minimising ongoing energy consumption, etc.??
Para 4 - should this be explicit in calling out active / sustainable / public transport as being the priority, at the expense of private??
General - should something be said about linkage to surrounding areas?? Playing a role?? Join up?? Engagement??
General - overall, really like the Draft Vision, it is quite long, however - should some of this be moved elsewhere??
Comments(7)
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Profile of Robert Weller
Posted by:Robert Weller
2 years ago
Very little of the vision relates to infrastructure. There is a brief mention of increased demand for water which will actually be significant but nothing at all about addressing that such as a suggested site for a new reservoir - plenty of water flows through but we need to capture it. Also the impact on roads needs to be high on the agenda and no longer an afterthought. Many developments will need existing T Junctions and crossroads amended to be roundabouts or traffic lights to cope with the increased traffic levels and roads like Frog Furlong Lane widened as was originally required by planning - the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Plus replacing the over-rail hump bridge between Badgeworth and the Reddings with a new bridge alongside the old, wide enough for traffic plus pedestrians (and cycles) for when that area is all built up. Liaising with Network Rail will be a long job, start now. These things need to be done ahead of building houses.
Profile of Dan Etchells
Posted by:Dan Etchells
2 years ago
@Robert Weller - agreed... But isn't vision 'big picture', and infrastructure 'what helps you get there'??
Profile of Robert Weller
Posted by:Robert Weller
2 years ago
@Dan Etchells In some senses it is but you can't build a vision for life in fantasy. Even at the vision stage there has to be a perception of a baseline. You could not build the vision of several thousand houses and then afterwards wonder what those houses needed. My vision encompasses the two things where the housing plugs into adequate facilities - you can't build one without the other and the infrastructure has to come first.
Profile of Dan Etchells
Posted by:Dan Etchells
2 years ago
@Robert Weller - hear what you say, but not sure I agree...
The vision is, say, '1000 new homes between Churchdown & Cheltenham' - that's the headline...
Then there are many, many tangible activities which deliver that...
The vision is the headline, not the delivery plan or the enabling activities.
Profile of Robert Weller
Posted by:Robert Weller
2 years ago
@Dan Etchells Beyond the initial pages the Plan goes on to talk in paragraph 5.16 of the Gloucestershire Local Housing Needs Assessment with annual and 20 year projection for the three authorities. The total annual need, bearing in mind that their stated aim is to work together on this, is 1,785 new homes annually with 35,700 over the twenty year period. This could be approached in piecemeal unconnected packets or it could be built into a long term plan to tie them all together in a coordinated fashion. What I am apparently saying not very well is that the Strategic and Local Plan is an attempt to do the latter but is an opportunity to see how the new and the existing structures can work together without overwhelming the existing infrastructure. Sewage pipework and water treatment works need to be in place ahead of anticipated demand. Getting these things done on a new site is much easier and cheaper than trying to do them afterwards and some of the cost can be directed to the developers rather than all coming out of the local authorities (ie. our local taxes) account. I am trying to look at the big picture across the three authorities rather than concentrating on us in Churchdown.
Profile of Simon Boswell
Posted by:Simon Boswell
2 years ago
It all feels a bit vague to me: a series of laudable aspirations that are surely matched by the aspirations of every city in the UK. What in this plan is going to help Gloucestershire stand out and compete on a national or even global level? How are we going to generate this ‘green growth’ (whatever that is). At the end of the day, our region has to articulate what makes it the best place to work, do business and live in the UK, or else it will just become a huge residential estate for wealthy old people.
Profile of Dan Etchells
Posted by:Dan Etchells
2 years ago
@Simon Boswell - it's the old Vision / Mission / Objective / Aim thing - at which point does it become more tangible??