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The Bradworthy Wind Turbines
Councillor
Christie's Weblog
From your Torridge District Councillor Peter Christie
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24th Aug '08
When I was last Mayor a few years ago I suggested the Town Band could take over the closed toilets in Victoria Park and refurbish them as a new Band Room. Following a structural survey, however, it was concluded that the building has no useful life left so if the Band were to take over the site they would have to construct a new building – which, on reflection, could well be a better approach in any case! This might appear a simple idea on the surface but nothing is ever that simple it seems and for all sorts of reasons it has taken until now to come before Torridge. The application from the Band follows a meeting that I and councillor Bob Hicks held with them last month which hopefully ironed out various sticking points. The bare bones of the scheme are that the Band would develop a purpose built Band Room incorporating a concert platform at the rear that would allow them and other musical groups to perform into the Park. The platform would be so designed as not to remove any mature trees and the building could, with ‘adequate supervision’, be used by other community groups. Given that the present Band Room in the Pannier Market was first occupied as a ‘temporary’ home in 1982 it is good that a permanent home has now finally been decided upon. When it came to the vote at the council committee I proposed we accept the scheme and was seconded by councillor Barry Parsons – with the committee voting unanimously in favour.
Well Tescos have finally put in their planning application for a new superstore at East-the-Water off of Manteo Way. It is appreciably larger than before (making it larger than the new Ilfracombe store for example) and will have some 151 car spaces and 14 ‘Disability Spaces’. The town council Plans committee looked at the scheme which was set out in a pile of documents some 6” high and agreed to accept it – with a few observations. We did ask for a Post Office to be included in the new shop even though Tesco said that they will not be providing one – or a café, pharmacy or dry cleaners come to that. We also asked for a range of pedestrian links and even a ‘sedum’ roof to help the store blend in with the hillside it will sit on i.e. a roof made up of living vegetation. Tesco claim that the ‘size and quality of store proposed, coupled with the strength of the Tesco name will also assist in clawing back to Bideford a significant element of locally generated expenditure’ – and there was I thinking all the profits disappeared off to London! I await the views of Torridge’s Planning Committee on this application in due course. Incidentally one intriguing section lists other possible sites and why they were not chosen. It includes Heywood Road by the roundabout which rather strangely was eliminated ‘due to flooding’ – if that one floods then there isn’t much hope for the rest of Bideford!
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