In this issue:
Ampney & District Royal British Legion Women's Section
Appendix - The Cripps proposals
The Parish Council’s decisions
The planning applications covering a number of sites in the village are now official and will shortly be considered by CDC Planning Committee. The Parish Council considered the applications after a Public Forum at an extraordinary Parish Council meeting on 23 November. At this meeting, the Council voted to oppose the overall scheme and three of the individual applications, and to support the other two applications. A detailed note on the reasons behind this decision is attached as an appendix to this newsletter. A copy of the Council’s letter to CDC will be posted in the Church porch, on the Village Hall internal notice board and on the village website (www.ampneycrucisf9.co.uk). Copies may also be obtained from any Parish Councillor or the Parish Clerk.
The Council would like to thank the dozen or so volunteers who turned up a few weeks ago to help with tidying up the Burial Ground. This is necessary work and as has been stated before, keeps the Council’s bills down.
On a less happy note, the Lych Gate has been vandalised for the second time this year. Nine panes of glass have been broken and, from the presence of small pebbles inside the Lych Gate, it looks as though catapults were used. The total cost to the parish this year now stands at £150 as the excess on the insurance policy is £75. It is likely that either the excess or the premiums will increase when the policy is renewed next year.
The Parish Council has the responsibility of maintaining and insuring the Lych Gate as it is public property. Vandalism therefore hits everybody’s pocket and it needs to be stamped out. The police have been informed (the incident number is 043640/01) and they are following up one suspected culprit. If you have any information about the incident, please either inform the police or, if you prefer, ring Crimestoppers É 0800 555 111.
Parishioners will recall that there was considerable irritation when the new bypass opened because of the noisy concrete surface. There was some expectation that the matter would be dealt with as part of the Highway Agency’s 10 year review of work to be done. The draft proposals have now been issued and the resurfacing of the length of road round Cirencester does not get a specific mention (though the stretch round Swindon does, and as a high priority at that). The only mention is a general item to “continue noise study work to find where measures would have a positive benefit” and this is given medium priority.
The Parish Council will be making written representations on the need to move the resurfacing of the bypass to a much higher priority and you are encouraged to write as well. The person to write to is Ms Vinny Mott, Babtie Group Limited, Churchill House, Churchill Way, Cardiff CF10 2HH. Letters must be received by 25 January 2002.
As many of you will know, the future of certain facilities at the hospital is very much in the news. The latest news is still patchy; it seems unclear whether the A & E unit will remain open for 24 hours a day though it is possible that many of the routine facilities such as blood tests may be largely unaffected. However, nothing can be taken for granted as the news seems to change weekly.
It is vital that the hospital remains able to provide a good level of facilities given the difficulties for rural areas to get to Cheltenham. The Parish Council will be repeating its strong representations first made over two years ago. You can also write, either to the East Gloucestershire NHS Trust or direct to the Secretary of State for Health, Alan Milburn MP. Please copy the MP (Geoffrey Clifton-Brown) in on your letter. Letters to MPs should be sent to House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA.
There is to be a protest rally in the Market Square on 8 December at 12 noon.
The Parish Council has received an invitation to twin with the village of Moyaux in Normandy (it’s a few miles NE of Lisieux). If there is enough interest, a small working party will pursue the matter to see exactly what’s involved and what the benefits are. Contact has been made with the person responsible for Cirencester’s twinning arrangements and she has kindly agreed to provide all the ‘ins and outs’ of twinning if we are interested.
If you have experience of twinning (or French!), or would just like to be involved, please contact David Vessey (É 851438).
The Parish Council heard evidence of a narrow miss two or three weeks ago when a car was overtaken at speed on the short stretch of road alongside Ampney Park. There are few places where overtaking can be considered safe on any part of the A417 as it passes through the village and so the Highways Authority will be asked to look into the provision of double white lines. One concern has already been raised regarding entry to driveways but the Council has been advised that it is quite legal to cross double white lines to enter driveways on the other side of the road.
Two settlement tanks have been installed below the grass verges at the bottom of Waterton Lane. These are to collect the water and sediment which washes down the lane at times of heavy rainfall. The tanks will be emptied as necessary and it is hoped that this will help to prevent the flooding at the crossroads.
You are asked once again to do what you can to prevent flooding this winter. Please keep an eye on any drains near your property that may have become blocked by surface leaves or sediment. If any appear to be blocked internally, please telephone the Parish Clerk, Helen Tonks (É 640718).
In past editions of ACT, we have kept you up-to-date with the progress (or lack of it) in constructing the five houses at the top of School Lane. Construction was to have started by now but there have been delays due to finalising the road layout and the subsequent adoption.
All is now resolved and work will start – after a fashion. In order to meet planning permission deadlines, work has to start soon. Therefore, a JCB will arrive, dig a small hole and then disappear until next April!.
……has been somewhat erratic and there have been complaints about the timetable. The Council will be writing to the Rural Transport Co-ordinator about the problems and our new County Councillor, Raymond Theodoulou (who was present at the last Parish Council meeting) has promised to look into the matter as well.
At its end of October meeting, the Trustees were able to review the financial position for the rest of the year. Sufficient funds were available to provide grants for nine students from the village who are undertaking further education. The grants are to help with the buying of books and other essentials for their course of study.
Applications for grants are invited every August so, if you are contemplating an apprenticeship or further education after leaving school and would like further details, please contact the secretary (John Franklin, Waterton Farm House, Ampney Crucis, GL7 5RR).
Individual NHW groups will have been regularly informed about crime in the village, but it deserves a wider mention as car crime seems to be a feature of village life. There have been many incidents over the year with the Dudley Farm/Riding Lane area getting more than its fair share. There seems to be a mixture of opportunist theft and some apparently “stealing to order”.
Please keep your vehicles locked at all times and please report any suspicious activity to the police immediately. It’s also an idea to notify your NHW co-ordinator so that the news can be spread as quickly as possible.
The majority of callers at your door will be known to you but occasionally they are not. The golden rule, of course, is never to let strangers into your house unless you are certain that they are who they claim to be (and if they claim to be representing any specific organisation, ask them for proof).
If you are in any doubt at all about a caller, leave them on the doorstep and phone the Bogus Callers Helpline ( É0808 1000 777) for advice. This a special Helpline set up by District Councils in Gloucestershire.
Monday 10 December, Ampney Crucis Village Hall, 7.30 p.m.
Wessex Actors Company is a touring drama group which receives a subsidy from Cotswold District Council to enable it to perform its Community Chest programme in local communities.
The company will be visiting Ampney Crucis to perform “Dickens at Christmas”, a presentation of amusing and festive pieces from the master story-teller of the Victorian era. Seasonal refreshments will also be served. So forget the Christmas shopping - come and meet friends and enjoy the entertainment.
Tickets at £4.00 each are available from Fran Huckle (( (851498).
Kim Hartshorne’s work on investigating the possibility of a children’s playground is continuing but the point has been reached where some discussions have to be arranged and held with the various statutory bodies who will have their say in the final decision (Health and Safety, the police and so on). Kim is going to have some difficulty fitting it all in so, if you are keen to see a playground established and are prepared to get involved in the necessary admin work, please give her a call on 851014.
Frank Skinner, who manages the village web site, receives quite a few enquiries via the site from enthusiastic genealogists trying to trace their ancestors and asking for more information about local families, gravestones etc. Unfortunately he is not always able to answer them and would like to know if there is anyone in the village who is interested in genealogy and/or local family histories who might be able to help him. If you can please contact Frank on 654597
The Humpty Dumpty Toddler Group meets every Tuesday morning from 10am to 11.30am in Ampney Crucis Village Hall. We have on average 8 - 10 children attending from 4 months to 4 years. We organise a different activity each week, for example making biscuits, play dough, marble painting - the messier the better the children seem to think. Aprons are provided! All mums, dads, grandparents, are all welcome. The cost is £1 per child, which includes juice, coffee and biscuits. We are always looking for new children so if your Tuesday morning is free come along, it's good fun. For further information please call Martina É 851551, Eleanor É 851880, or Flora É 850979.
The Friends of the School are holding their Christmas Bazaar after school (3.15pm) on Friday 14 December. There will various stalls including a cake stall, small gift stall (suitable for children to buy presents for their parents) etc. The stalls will be concentrating on good quality second hand children’s toys and books.
The group's first meeting was held at Annette's house on 8 October, when Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was discussed. Despite the fact that nobody present had unreservedly enjoyed the book, a lively discussion took place and group members decided to meet again!
The next meeting will be at Laffords Cottage, Ampney St. Mary, on 26 November at 7.30 p.m. The Constant Gardenerby John le Carre will be discussed.
If you enjoy reading and would like to know more about the group, phone Lesley Ashforth or Annette Woolcock.
Meets monthly, Thursdays, Village Hall, 7.30 p.m.
13 Dec Christmas supper
24 Jan Women in Air Force Blue: a talk by Mrs L Hilditch
Visitors welcome, particularly newcomers to the area.
Contact: Secretary, Mrs Payne, (( 850267
Meets Mondays, Village Hall, 2 p.m.
14 Jan Gordon Longley and ‘Iris Nelmes’- an entertainment miscellany
28 Jan Forest of Dean Guiding Service
Contact Paddy or Peggy Thompson, ( (851619
Meets monthly, Tuesdays, Village Hall, 7.15 p.m.
No meetings in January
Contact: Secretary, Janet Gibbs, (( 851227
Meets monthly, Thursdays, Village Hall, 7-9 p.m.
17 Jan New Year’s Dinner at Crown of Crucis
Contact: Joyce Cutts, ( 851540
Babysitter available – responsible, reliable and local. Available for: school holidays and Saturday nights; 6.30 – 10 p.m. on weekdays during school term.
Contact Chloe Clark, ( 851644.
National Geographic magazines – if you can give a good home to a box of these (from 1994 to 2000), ring Rosanna Armitage É 850005
Personal ads in this column cost £1 per ad per issue. Local businesses can place an ad (£5) or sponsor an issue (£10). Contact the editors for details.
Adverts will be placed on a first come, first served basis and space is limited to up to five ads per issue.
Copy deadline for next issue (February):
Tuesday 15th January 2002
Send to: Fran Huckle, 3 Dudley Farm Ampney Crucis. É851498
Editors: David Vessey, Fran Huckle and Elisabeth Gerver
Produced by Ampney Crucis Parish Council
for the information of residents.
No liability can be accepted by the Council or Councillors for any losses,
however caused, arising from this publication
At its extraordinary meeting on 23 November, the Parish Council met to consider the five planning proposals submitted jointly by Park Farms Ltd and the Ampney Crucis Association. The applications were for four houses at the lower end of School Lane, one house in Butcher’s Arms Lane, a shop unit in the Pleydells, sports facilities in Allotment Lane and a wetlands area by the river. The applicants requested that they all be considered as a Village Scheme for which they were offering some identified benefits.
All the decisions of the Council to support elements of the proposals, as described below, were unanimous; those to reject any elements were majority decisions.
All planning decisions are taken on the basis of the CDC Local Plan. The policy followed by the Parish Council is always to abide by the Local Plan, principally because it has taken a part in formulating the current Plan and will be asked for its views on the next version, work on which has already started. However, the Plan is not rigid and there is room for flexibility.
The planning status of the village.
Within the Local Plan, the village, in common with a number of other smaller villages in the Cotswolds, has planning status H5. This allows for limited residential development within the “village settlement” and such development is governed by Policy 1.2 of the Local Plan. Outside the village settlement, land is described as being open countryside where residential development is governed by Policy 2. The key question, therefore, is whether the sites concerned are within the village settlement (and covered by Policy 1.2) or in the open countryside (and covered by Policy 2).
The village is described in the Local Plan as following the horseshoe shape of the Village Street. The area runs from the War Memorial to Dudley Farm, including the northern end of School Lane and the southern end of Butcher’s Arms Lane close to the Pound Tree. All other areas of the village, particularly the arable areas inside and outside the horseshoe, are defined as outside the village settlement and in open countryside. The point is specifically made in the Local Plan that the houses at the southern end of School Lane are separate from the village itself.
This boundary between the village settlement and the open countryside has been consistently upheld by the Planning Inspectorate, CDC, the Parish Council and the Ampney Crucis Association during the lifetime of the Local Plan and for many years before that. It has also been the view when considering past planning applications for residential dwellings on either side of School lane, on the Butcher’s Arms Lane site and in Allotment Lane. On the basis of past planning history, therefore, all the sites covered by the five applications are outside the village settlement and in open countryside and therefore covered by Policy 2 of the Local Plan.
Under Policy 2, any residential development in open countryside must be essential for the purposes of agriculture or forestry. This requirement has been upheld over the years by CDC supported by both the Parish Council and the Ampney Crucis Association. However, a wide range of community facilities are permissible within Policy 2 including shops, sports facilities, nature reserves etc.
The Parish Council objected to the applications to build residential housing on the same grounds as it has objected to previous applications on these sites i.e. that residential housing, not essential for agriculture or forestry is not allowed under Policy 2.
The Parish Council also objected to the shop despite the fact that it would be permissible under Policy 2. The Village Appraisal has shown a strong desire within the village for the shop to re-open but the Parish Council felt there was no evidence to suggest that a shop would be successful. The Council was concerned that it could be used for other forms of retail outlet for which the village had not expressed any need.
The Parish Council had no objections to the wetlands or to the establishment of a sports field both of which would be permissible under the Local Plan (though the construction of specific facilities will require further planning applications).
The Local Plan is flexible and there is provision for setting it aside if there are “clear and over-riding material considerations”. The Parish Council therefore considered whether the benefits on offer provided a good enough reason for setting aside the Local Plan and concluded that they were not The Parish Council is concerned that a good deal of anticipation has been built up over the benefits without a full appreciation of just how difficult it may be to achieve them.
The shop
The informal working party set up by the Parish Council could not see that a village shop would be successful. The shop would normally depend on newspapers, post office facilities and assorted general stock ( the need for post office facilities rated very highly in the Village Appraisal). However, the village is currently well served by a newspaper delivery service and the Post Office were not at all encouraging about reopening the sub-post office (they described a post office in Ampney Crucis as “not a viable business option”). There were no details on how the unit (in the Pleydells) could be used for alternative community uses and the Council is concerned that the village would gain a building for which no obvious use had been defined but which would need maintaining and insuring. It would also then be an approved building on agricultural land.
The sports facilities
The football facilities would be welcome but the Council feels that the levelling of ground for two tennis courts is misguided (tennis facilities also received a high rating in the Village Appraisal). Cash will be needed but there are some extremely tight conditions which must be met before any money will be forthcoming. Figures provided by the Lawn Tennis Association showed that the cost for two courts without fencing or other facilities is in the order of £40,000. First and foremost is the need to form an active tennis club and there is simply no sign of this. The Council feels that Ampney Crucis is too small to support a club able to meet the high initial and ongoing costs required to keep two tennis courts up and running.
The arable areas
The other areas of land contained in the application, including the wetlands, were seen as a long term management problem with, apart from the initial cash injection of £8,000, little indication of where the money would come from to maintain them in the future. The arable lands could continue being farmed, as now, but there was nothing to indicate what the income might be. The plans are unquestionably attractive and ambitious but some of the anticipated facilities (a playground has been mentioned) may never materialise because of both the cost and the need to earn an income for the Trust (which, the Council believes, will be running on a very tight budget for some time).
The Parish Council is concerned that there is a high expectation that some facilities may arise automatically. The reality is that when the houses are built, Park Farm’s problems will be over. The problems for the village will be just beginning. The facilities will only arrive if a great deal of work and money is put into them by the village, not only to set them up in the first place but to maintain them in the future. The need for this type of long term commitment is difficult to guarantee in a small village which has such a high ‘turnover’ each year. It could take years for some of the potential benefits to materialise, if at all.
The Parish Council’s principal concern, however, is that to build non-essential housing in open countryside (on land, which in the words of a Planning Inspector is protected by “a miscellany of national, strategic and local policies”) would create a very unwelcome precedent and could lead to previously rejected applications being revived. The concern on precedents has been voiced by CDC in the past in relation to housing in School Lane. It was also raised by the Planning Inspector and the Ampney Crucis Association at the appeal earlier this year against the refusal to build residential housing at the Builder’s Yard (which is behind the houses opposite the Village Hall).
The Parish Council therefore concluded that, although the potential benefits on offer were attractive, it was not convinced that the village would be able to develop them and then sustain them in the years to come. Having regard to the very real dangers of creating precedents for further development in areas of countryside in other parts of the village, the benefits were not enough to encourage departing from the Local Plan.
The Parish Council therefore recommended rejection of the Village Scheme.
**********************