What will be the future of rural Bleadon?
What will be the outcome of North Somerset Council's Consultation that ends today, 29 April 2022?
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Submit your comments to North Somerset Council ASAP, details on BOB's Local Plan Consultation blog
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Be Involved Blog
Bleadon Be Involved Blog is for anyone who would like to raise an issue about, affecting or concerning Bleadon Parish Area. Please send your information for a new blog item to us using the normal contact us page and we will add it as soon as possible then anyone can add comments to it. These comments can be made in your name or anonomously but we reserve the right to take down anything we consider inappropriate or likely to offend.
You may be interested in other Bleadon BOB pages: Parish Council , Parish Council Precept , Parish Plan and Issues. Also remember that historical posts can be viewed by selecting the drop down menu at the top of the blog home page. More Blogs on Whats New, Neighbourhood Watch, Events and Classified/Lost and Found. Also see new Action Group page.
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What will be the future of rural Bleadon?
What will be the outcome of North Somerset Council's Consultation that ends today, 29 April 2022?
|
|
Submit your comments to North Somerset Council ASAP, details on BOB's Local Plan Consultation blog
A reminder that the parish meeting tomorrow, Monday 11 April 2022 at 7pm, is a RESIDENT’S MEETING not a parish council meeting. We understand the council’s legal obligation is to widely inform residents 7 clear days beforehand (not including weekends), to arrange the hall booking and provide a chairman for residents to raise their views and concerns regarding the parish. It seems that councillors and the clerk are not required to attend.
It’s therefore interesting to note that the undated chairman’s agenda puts the residents ‘Open Forum’, the main legal purpose of the meeting, at the very end of her agenda, putting residents after parish councillors and her chosen speakers have spoken. The agenda appears to be a twist on the usual council meeting (where residents are not permittted to talk or question councillors during the meeting) and a 'Contact Us' meeting (where village organisations promote their services to new residents).
It’s also interesting to note that there is no update on planning development, no mention of local, district or national consultations affecting our community e.g. potential Bleadon wind & solar PV farms, and no update on roads and travel (buses) from the council? Nor is there an indication of BPC’s plans for our community, having ‘lost’ the residents’ agreed and adopted Parish Plan (£10K+?) and stalled its Neighbourhood Plan (£8K+?) pre-covid. So whose views are councillors basing their decision making and expenditure on?
What about the changes to Bleadon’s bus services and associated safety issues? Or an update on the A370 speed changes, central reservation, traffic lights, ‘village’ one-way system, etc.?
Bleadon is a rural village, so with global leaders indicating possible food shortages what is BPC doing to promote local food security? How is it supporting our rural farmers and workers?
The COVID elephant in the room has also been ignored, what was the £10K grant awarded to BPC in 2020. used for (COVID, Cllr ipads, church clock)? Local, district and national government policies have undoubtedly had a huge effect on all residents’ emotional, mental, physical and economic well-being. It’s also had a huge effect on local, district and national democracy with more and more meetings and decision making being made behind closed doors, resulting in an increasing lack of transparency.
This year, during the current economic crisis, Bleadon Parish Council gave itself a £64K budget financed by a £54K tax/precept demanded from Bleadon residents (£50K in 2021 makes a 8% increase), with £8K taken from reserves. If the parish council exists to democratically represent its residents, do residents feel that BPC uses its newsletter and website to inform and gather residents’ views of government activity effectively? E.g. How does it inform residents of consultations and available BPC grants? (e.g. the ‘independent’ Bleadon in Bloom group was given a grant of £8.5K+ in 2021/22 and £? in 2022)
It appears only councillors and invited speakers attended the Parish Meeting last year (related blog). Perhaps, if a large number of residents attend on Monday, the chair might put the residents ‘Open Forum’ first, to enable residents to have sufficient time to voice their views and concerns regarding their community. Maybe residents can reclaim their ONLY OFFICIAL ANNUAL RESIDENT’S MEETING.
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Additional info:
UPDATE: Consultation submissions
Consultation | Opens | Closes | Information | |
14 Mar 22 | 29 Apr 22 at 5pm | "The draft Local Plan sets out the councils preferred options for delivering the number of new homes and associated infrastructure such as schools, transport and other facilities that are needed in North Somerset up to 2038" |
North Somerset Council are inviting you to take part in the consultation (PDF)
Renewable Search Areas E.g. See page 49 image for Bleadon Wind Turbines & Solar PVs
See also previous solar farm application in Bleadon BOB blog, (Energy Security Strategy, 10 point plan) and Nuclear engergy | |
Minerals E.g. See page 72, (incl fracking licences throughout Bleadon, WSM and towards Somerset Govt) | |
Settlement boundaries E.g. See page 26 and page 126 and page 158 See also Settlement Boundaries BOB blog | |
Proposed Residential Sites. How does this relate to the previous NSC Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA)? How does this relate to the regional Joint Spatial Plan (Blog & Blog)
"New communities in North Somerset will help deliver the housing, jobs and infrastructure we need to 2036. The Joint Spatial Plan (JSP) will set out the overall amount of new homes and business development and where it should be located across the West of England area, as well as the important schools, transport, community facilities and green spaces needed to support that growth." (PDF) | |
Proposed Employment Sites. How does this relate to the Employment Land Review? | |
Community Facilities | |
See page 165 Where is Bleadon's 'Strategic Gap' similar to Hutton, Locking and Banwell? -
"Areas of land which are protected from development between particular settlements which play and an important role in helping to retain their separate identity and character" | |
Transport - See Rural Roads and Active Travel Consultation & Strategy BOB blogs How does this fit with the regional Joint Local Transport Plan (Blog & Blog) | |
Retail - See Quarry Application | |
Local Green Space | |
Air Travel & Safety - See Bristol Airport Expansion BOB blog. Is there still a maintenance route over Bleadon to Cardiff? How does this fit with NSC carbon neutral and green agenda? | |
Green Belt |
What about Food Security?
Previous NSC Local Plan Consultations
BOB ppt (26Mb)
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Other info:
The appointed auditor can be contacted at the address in paragraph 4 below for this purpose between the above dates only.
Notice of Public Right to view Bleadon Parish Councils financially related information
There is a six week opportunity to lawfully view BPC's accounting records for last year between Monday 14 June 2021 and Friday 23 July 2021 as summarised in its unaudited AGAR
"Any person interested has the right to inspect and make copies of the accounting records for the financial year to which the audit relates and all books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers, receipts and other documents relating to those records must be made available for inspection by any person interested.
For the year ended 31 March 2021, these documents will be available on reasonable notice by application" to the parish clerk by ringing 0745 335 318 or emailling parishclerk@bleadonparishcouncil.co.uk (AGAR Notice)
Residents and their representatives also have:
Other BPC published financial information::
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See also:
Tariffs will be scrapped immediately on imported beef and lamb from Australia, triggering accusations that the trade deal struck by Boris Johnson will send UK farmers “to the wall”.
"The small print of the first major post-Brexit agreement – revealed by Canberra, as the UK government tried to keep it under wraps – revealed a pledge to protect farmers for 15 years has been dropped.
Watchdog supposed to scrutinise Australia trade deal still will not exist when deal is signed
Transformation of Agriculture and the use of Insects (FEB20)
"Themed collaborative R&D: we will fund collaborative projects, which will need to involve farming or agri-food businesses working with researchers, to carry out R&D focused on strategic, high-priority societal challenges with the potential to transform agricultural productivity over longer time horizons. We have identified a set of themes and will develop these to ensure that they are targeted on innovative solutions to these challenges"
![]() | "Themes include:
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"The third tier in our current proposal would be focused on delivering landscape scale land-use change projects, where such projects drive added value over and above what can be delivered through tiers 1 and 2."
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Agricultural Productivity Working Group Report Feb20
Including case studies of:
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See also:
Consultation | Opens | Closes | Information | |
Parking Standards Supplementary Planning Document Consulation | 17 May 21 | 28 Jun 21 | "... update the existing Parking Standards Supplementary Planning Document (SPD)" |
North Somerset Council are inviting you to take part in the consultation: (you need to have a login!!)
"The Council is proposing to update the existing Parking Standards Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). The current standards date back to November 2013 and are in need of a comprehensive update, particularly in light of the Council’s 2019 declaration of a Climate Emergency and ambition to be carbon neutral by 2030.
The Parking Standards SPD supports Core Strategy Policy CS11: Parking and sets out the Council’s requirement for all types of parking provision (vehicle, cycle, motorcycle, etc) at new developments. It seeks to ensure that an appropriate level of parking is provided at new developments, and offers clarity for developers, officers and other stakeholders by providing clear and comprehensive guidance.
As part of this review, a variety of updates are proposed including:
- The introduction of ‘Principle 19: Electric Vehicle Parking’ which sets out minimum requirements for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure at new development.
- The introduction of ‘Principle 20: Car Club Schemes at New Development’ to ensure the provision of Car Club vehicles at suitable locations.
- The introduction of a ‘Parking Needs Assessment’ to assist officers in determining a suitable level of parking in areas well served by active and public modes of transport and where car ownership and use is lower.
- Increases to the minimum number of cycle parking spaces to be required at new developments. Updates to Appendix A (Car and Cycle parking Standards), including introducing standards for sports halls, gyms/health clubs, cinemas and Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMO).
- A small increase in parking bay dimensions from 2.4m x 4.8m to 2.5m to 5m.
A more detailed report on the proposed updates to the SPD was presented to the Council’s Executive Committee on 28th April 2021. You can read the Executive report here." (17MAY21)
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See also:
Consultation | Opens | Closes | Information | |
12 May 21 | 03 Jun 21 | "... proposed changes to Baker Street and Milton Road are intended to give more space to people using the streets" |
"Active Travel Improvements at Baker Street and Milton Road, Weston-super-Mare
(Questionnaire - PDFpg1, pg2, pg3, pg4, pg5, pg6)
North Somerset Council are encouraging the public to have their say as part of a consultation on proposed changes to Baker Street and Milton Road in Weston-super-Mare. We are particularly interested to hear from people who live in the local area.
The proposed changes to Baker Street and Milton Road are intended to give more space to people using the streets, especially outside the primary school and will link the existing Summerlands cycle route to Weston town centre and seafront. There are opportunities to provide more seating, plants and trees and narrower junctions at side roads will make crossing safer for all.
The new proposals include [map of proposed street changes]:
- A wider pavement in front of the school to allow more space for school children and parents Better crossings facilities
- More seating, greenery and trees
- A 20mph speed limits will help make streets safer for all
- New mandatory cycle lanes in Milton Road, with a westward cycle track in Baker Street One-way restriction on Baker Street, Glebe Road and Wooler Road, removing some through traffic and allowing more parking
This scheme is part of the Department for Transport funded Active Travel Fund improvements aimed to help people travel more sustainably and help to assist with economic recovery following Covid-19. Further information can be found at www.n-somerset.gov.uk/activetravel" (13MAY21)
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See also:
Consultation | Opens | Closes | Information | |
26 Apr 21 | 21 July 21 | "Any person with sufficient interest in the decision to adopt the SPD may apply to the High Court for permission to apply for judicial review of that decision." |
North Somerset Council adopted its supplementary planning document (SPD) on 21 April 2021.
"The SPD [Creating Sustainable Buildings and Places SPD], adoption statement and consultation statement can be seen on the Council's website at https://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/my-services/planning-building-control/planning-policy/supplementary-plans-guidance/adopted-supplementary-plans , and copies can also be viewed during normal opening hours at the following Council office:
Town Hall, Walliscote Grove Road, Weston-super-Mare, BS23 1TG
Any person with sufficient interest in the decision to adopt the SPD may apply to the High Court for permission to apply for judicial review of that decision. Any such application must be made promptly and in any event not later than 3 months after 21 July 2021.
Planning Policy Team
North Somerset Council"
"Superseded policies
Following publication of some of the above supplementary planning documents, many of the replacement local plan policies have been superseded by the Core Strategy and/or the Sites and Policies Plan part 1: development management policies.
Please refer to the below local plan policy schedule to find out which policies have been superseded, and where applicable, the relevant replacement.
See also:
Consultation | Opens | Closes | Information | |
31 Mar 21 | 05 May 21 | "North Somerset Council would like your feedback on plans for a 900 school-place expansion of Winterstoke Hundred Academy to be located in Parklands Village." |
"North Somerset Council would like your feedback on plans for a 900 school-place expansion of Winterstoke Hundred Academy to be located in Parklands Village.
The Winterstoke Hundred Academy is managed by Cabot Learning Federation and based on Beaufighter Road. This proposed school expansion would see additional facilities for pupils aged 11 to 19, built nearby on the newly opened North South Link Road access to Locking Parklands, adjacent to the A371.
The expanded school facilities, which are funded through Homes England’s Housing Infrastructure Fund, will help to increase intake so that growing families from across the area can access local schooling.
The plans include modern and spacious classrooms that we hope will provide young people with opportunities to get the very best start in life. The designs are also expected to include sports facilities and playing fields and will be built to high environmental standards. You can read more about this on the right-hand side of this page.
Work is now underway on the design of the school expansion, leading up to planning submission in May 2021. Fill in our short questionnaire to tell us what you think about the plans for the school and your priorities for the project’s delivery."
Other information:
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See also:
Development Applications
Affecting Bleadon
The table below lists a few applications and developments currently influencing Bleadon Parish. There are also some policies and consultations influencing development in Bleadon.
Inside Settlement Boundary (Map) | ||
![]() | Land at Bleadon Hill Golf Club | Dismantle underground approx 800m overhead cables, etc. NO OBJECTION (24MAR21) |
![]() | Wallflower House | WITHDRAWN (18MAR21) |
![]() | Rectory Garden | WITHDRAWN (02MAR21) |
![]() | Bleadon Quarry | GRANTED (01MAR21) |
Outside Settlement Boundary, Inside Parish (Map) | ||
![]() | Purn Way | |
![]() | Purn Holiday Park | 10 Lodges |
![]() | Coronation Road | (Previiously 3 dwellings) REFUSED (29APR21) |
![]() | Wayacre Drove (off Accommodation Rd) | WITHDRAWN (01FEB21) |
![]() | Purn Way | DISMISSED (14JAN21) |
![]() | Adjacent to Mendip Racing | GRANTED (10DEC20) |
![]() | Accommodation Road | Wake Park Offices, Cafe, Storage GRANTED (27NOV20) |
Outside Parish Boundary (Map) | ||
![]() | Rural Lanes Active Travel Enhancement Scheme | Temporarily WITHDRAWN (07APR21) |
![]() | Devil's Bridge | GRANTED (22JUL19) |
![]() | Bleadon Hill | REFUSED (08JAN21) |
Overhead and Underground | ||
![]() | Bristol Airport Expansion | Statement of Common Ground/Case Rule 6 awarded Compulsory Purchase |
![]() | Bleadon Fracking Licence | SUSPENDED (02NOV19) |
Government, Regional, District and Parish consultations and policies will directly influence residential and commercial development in Bleadon. You may want to respond to the consultations to ensure that your view is considered in the future of our communities.
Also see: