Latest Newsletter from Tarvin Residents Group

Following our last News up date, issued in Dec 2016 we are now able to share some more information with you regarding the proposed Gypsy and Traveller's Site on Tarporley Road. Despite our best efforts the site remains on the Council's list of Recommended Site Options. We believe there continues to be 11 sites under consideration, all of which are either green or amber, with the Tarvin site rated amber. Of the 11 sites, 7 are on privately owned land, whilst 3 sites, including Tarporley Road, are on land owned by CWaC. We suspect that the Council will focus on those on CWAC owned land as they believe these are easier to deliver. The Council are under considerable pressure from central Government to deliver the required number of Gypsy and Traveller Sites so we need to continue to demonstrate how the Tarporley Road site is inappropriate.

This issue has not gone away. Following our representations to the Local Plan Part 2 Working Group in November 2016 they decided to set up an internally appointed Task Force to progress this issue. We have been informed of the names of the four Councillors who make up the Task Force, but unfortunately our request for details of their Terms of Reference has been denied. Furthermore, we have discovered that the workings of the Task Force will be private and no written record will be made of their deliberations. We are pressing to engage with the Task Force and hope to be able to make representations both verbally and in writing. We will continue to demand more transparency from CWaC on this issue.

In the meantime we have decided to adopt a more positive approach by identifying, assessing and promoting more suitable Brownfield sites as alternatives whilst continuing to demonstrate that the Tarvin site is unsuitable when measured against the relevant criteria including central Government Guidelines and planning law. Many of you will be aware of the Planning Application (Principle to Develop) that has been submitted by Gladman Developments Ltd on the land close to the proposed Gypsy site. Whilst we will have to await the outcome of the application we have professional expert advice that under Planning Law there is no reason why both the housing and Gypsy Site developments could not be allowed. In our view relying upon the housing development to negate the Gypsy and Traveller's site would be unwise. The positioning of the Tarvin Settlement Boundary has yet to be decided by the Parish Council. This is likely to be a significant issue in future planning decisions so we are still encouraging a speedy resolution to this issue.

Sadly the number of responses to our two petitions has been disappointing. We posted over 1,200 leaflets via Resident's letter boxes before Xmas but to date only 100 have been returned, containing about 250 signatures. Our on-line petition currently has 352 signatures. We need at least 1,600 names on our petition in order to force a debate on the issue at the CWaC Cabinet. If you have not already done so, please complete your written petition and ensure you gather as many signatures from family, friends or work colleagues as possible. A copy of the written petition can be downloaded from Tarvin Online and when completed, dropped in the petition box either at The Post Office or Jessops. Remember anyone who lives, works or studies in Cheshire West can sign up.

We have found that many people have registered for the online petition, however they have not actually placed their vote. It is a two stage process. If you signed up to our on-line petition please ensure that you actually placed your vote and that it was acknowledged (you should have received a confirming e-mail from CWaC). Please ensure that you didn't merely register to vote! The online petition closes in April so it is really important that we get as many people as possible to sign. The petition can be found at http://cmttpublic.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/mgepetitionlistdisplay.aspx?bcr=1. Please share this link with as many people as you can via email, facebook or other social media and encourage them to sign up.

As mentioned in our previous newsletter, we are seeking donations to fund the next steps involving professional experts. All donations would be gratefully received. if you do wish to contribute then please contact us via email at tarvinresidentsgroup@gmail.com and we will arrange to collect the donation. If you would like to receive updates by email please also contact us on this e-mail . We need to maintain the momentum on this issue and you can really help by doing all you can to get as many signatures on either the online petition or the paper petition. We appreciate your continued support.