Of the two Bathwick planning applications decided by the Development Control Committee yesterday one was approved and the other rejected. Your local Liberal Democrat councillors voted against both.

The Lime Grove application was brought to the planning committee under a new protocol introduced by the Liberal Democrat administration – that proposals on council owned land are determined in public. Nicholas Coombes and David Martin judged that the proposal was not good enough for Bathwick. Their main objections were that the houses would be built to the lowest possible environmental standards, that they were not adequately protected from the railway noise and that the development missed the opportunity to improve the adjacent footpath. However, the majority of the committee agreed with the plannig officer that the application was acceptable.

Cllr Nicholas Coombes brought the application for a new house in a Minster Way back garden to the committee as a previous proposal had been rejected. The planning officer judged that the latest proposal was sufficiently different from the 2003 application to be approved. However, the planning committee disagreed and voted to reject the proposal on principle.

There are two planning applications from Bathwick going to next week’s Development Control Committee meeting. One is the new application to build 13 houses on the old Lime Grove School site, the other is for a new house next to 6 Trossachs Drive in the back garden of 53 Minster Way.

You can have a look at the plans for Lime Grove here; it is for fewer houses than were refused permission last year, on a slightly different boundary. The plans for the Minster Way House are here; it is for a slightly larger house than was refused permission in 2003.

The council planning officers have recommended that both plans are approved. However, as the Lime Grove School site is owned by BathNES Council the Liberal Democrat cabinet member for Homes & Planning has requested that the Development Control Committee have the final say. Your local councillor Nicholas Coombes has requested that the Minster Way proposal is heard at committee because it is similar to a plan previously refused.

The application will be heard at the Wednesday 9^th May meeting, which starts at 2pm in the Brunswick Room, Bath Guildhall. Anyone is welcome to watch the meeting, which will probably deal with these applications around 3pm.

Members of the public are also entitled to speak at the meeting, but they must register in advance. The deadline is 5pm Monday 7^th to call 394435 or email Democratic_Services@bathnes.gov.uk. Only three minutes is allowed for each side, so if there are multiple speakers they will have to share the time slot.

Comments and objections already sent to the council are included in the report to the committee. There is no need to re-submit a comment or objection or to make it in person.

Both of your Bathwick Liberal Democrat councillors are members of the Development Control Committee, so Nicholas and David must keep an open mind about the application until they have heard all of the evidence.

We hope that this information is helpful to you. We want to make sure that everyone is able to take part in this process to reach the right result.

The developer seeking to build 13 homes on the Lime Grove school site have submitted their planning application.

A previous application for 19 homes was refused last year; since then Bloor Homes have scaled down the development by removing the five affordable homes planned. A description of the scheme was circulated to neighbours last month.

You can look at the plans on the council website, where you can also comment about the proposals. The reference for the application is 12/00980/FUL.

Bathwick councillors David Martin and Nicholas Coombes both sit on the Development Control committee. This means that they should not comment on the plans in advance in case they are asked to decide on the application. However, both will happily offer advice about how to take part in the consultation process.

Local residents will be asked for their opinions on the future of Bath’s MoD sites.

Today the council’s planning, transport and environment committee approved the production of ‘Concept Statements’ which will outline how the sites can be developed. The MoD are expected to start selling their three sites in Bath from September this year, and expect to have moved to Abbey Wood in Bristol by March 2013. The Warminster Road site currently houses the People, Pensions & Pay Agency, but has been allocated for 140 houses.

Draft concept statements will be available for public comment during April and May. There will be an exhibition near the site plus all of the documents will be available online. Leaflets will also be sent to neighbours of the site informing them of the plans.

Throughout May local residents will be asked to comment on the concept statements and complete questionnaires about their views for the sites. The concept statements will be amended over the summer so that they are ready in time for potential developers to inspect before buying the sites.

Local residents will be asked about their priorities for the redevelopment of the Bath MoD sites.

The Minstry of Defence will be closing their office bases at Warminster Road, Ensleigh and Foxhill and tranferring staff to Abbey Wood. The sites will be put up for sale in September and are expected to be redeveloped in 2013.

The Council’s housing plan allocates 140 homes to the People, Pensions and Pay Agency site on Warminster Road, though the Chronicle reports that the MoD believe that more can be accommodated.

BathNES Council will prepared a ‘vision document’ to guide development on the sites. They will consult with local people over the summer.

“We all know that Bath needs more housing,” said Bathwick councillor Nicholas Coombes, “and we’ve been ready for the closure of the Warminster Road base for years. Now we need to think what sort of development we want to see on the site.”

The new Liberal Democrat administration has moved to regulate houses in multiple occupation.

Shared housing (HMOs), used by students and young professionals, is generally in Oldfield Park, but a number of homes in Bathwick and on Claverton Down have been converted in recent years. Rented HMOs provide affordable housing to thousands of Bath residents, but their proliferation has caused problems in some parts of the city.

The Lib Dems are investigating methods to better regulate HMOs to drive up standards and drive out poor landlords leading to safer and better maintained houses. They have also allocated funding to formulate changes to planning policy.

An Article 4 Directive allows councils to depart from national planning policy, in this instance Use Class Orders. Current planning policy does not distinguish between the uses of family and shared homes, allowing legal conversion in any circumstance. By changing the local application of Use Classes through an Article 4 Directive, the council will bforce prospective landlords to apply for planning permission before converting a single dwelling to an HMO. This will allow local residents to respond to such applications and argue against where it would have damage to their community.