Lib Dems drive Consultation on Upper High Street

With the Helical Bar appeal over refusal of their supermarket plans for Upper High Street now underway, Lib Dem councillors have confirmed their support for a Development Brief.

The Brief will cover a slightly wider area than just the supermarket site and will guide future planning applications for the area. The Council will hold a public meeting in mid January which will start the process of compiling the Brief. Meanwhile the organisation formed to fight the original plans - Residents Action Group - is being asked for their views, along with other local organisations, interest groups and the shop owners in Upper High Street itself. The open meeting will be held at the United Reformed Church and details will be published in the press as soon as they are confirmed. The Development Brief in its final form should be agreed by the end of March.

Cllrs Julie Morris and Colin Taylor are involved in the Development Brief "working party". Julie commented "Whilst Helical Bar carry on with their appeal, they cannot build unless the council sell their portion of the land and, as the Chairman of the Environment Committee has already said, this is never likely to happen. I've made sure that RAG is one of the first to be consulted, even before the public meeting, and four council officers are spending a great deal of time on producing a Development Brief by March. Undoubtedly the Brief should have been produced before a planning application came in, but at least it can inform future plans for the site."