Developers win (From Darlington and Stockton Times)

Developers win

9:56am Friday 3rd July 2009

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Sir, – I would like to extend my thanks to Couns Dawson, Johnson and Harris, who had the judgement and strength of character to vote against the motion on the Scotch Corner Employment Park at the meeting of Richmondshire planning committee.

The other members (with the exception of Coun Duff who, after declaring a distant familial link with the developers, Buccleuch Estate, was asked to leave the chamber) either voted for or abstained on the decision to delete a roundabout from the entrance to the new employment park.

Reader, if in two years’ time when travelling on the A6108 to Scotch Corner, you are faced with a 60ft truck performing a 90-degree turn across your path, you can hold these councillors and the official from North Yorkshire highways responsible.

Despite the best efforts of local residents, who have tried on three occasions to get the plans for the development and the site entrance of the employment park scaled back, their wishes have been thwarted by a group of largely Independent councillors led by ward member Coun McMullon of Middleton Tyas.

Coun McMullon, may I remind readers, was elected unopposed as the Conservative candidate for Middleton Tyas, and has since switched allegiances to join the Independents of North Yorkshire. It is in this capacity that she assumes the position of Coun Blackie on the planning committee, mustering the votes of other Independents to pursue an agenda unsympathetic to the wishes of Middleton Tyas and adjacent parish councils.

The planning committee has been led by Richmondshire district planning officials who are responding to a complex series of planning applications from O’Neill, agents for Buccleuch Estates, the owners and developers of the Scotch Corner site.

This site on greenfield land will compete ultimately with the proposed business park on brownfield land at Colburn, which has the added community benefit of supporting local jobs and affordable housing.

Requested and approved variations to the site at Scotch Corner have trebled the volume of the warehouse facility, with the resulting increase in traffic, from the outline approval, when access via a roundabout was specified on the grounds of safety.

The original site layout has been compromised by the proposed A1 upgrade, the start date of which is now 2014 at the earliest.

The previously approved roundabout is now to be replaced by a single lane crossover and a 40mph speed limit situated on the current dual carriageway.

This will cause 60ft heavy trucks turning into the employment park to cross the path of northbound traffic on the A6108. Southbound traffic from the park will have a 360-degree navigation of the Scotch Corner roundabout before travelling south on the A6108.

These additional traffic manoeuvres in an already congested area and at a geographical location prone to fog and ice can only present an additional and unnecessary hazard to travellers on the A6108, which is already deemed by the Road Safety Foundation to be medium to high risk.

It is only since retirement over two years ago that I have had the time to become involved in local politics via the parish council. Lessons learnt from this planning experience are that if the elected representatives are to hold the executive to account, then local residents need to be kept aware of how their councillor is performing.

Democracy relies on an informed electorate.

The Richmondshire District Council website is a source of valuable information on planning matters and I would urge all readers to make themselves familiar with what is being requested and approved in their local parish.

On this occasion, I feel the financial interests of property developers skilled in the ways of manipulating the planning process have won out against the interests of the local community.

Coun PAUL DAVID ALLISON Gilling West with Hartforth and Sedbury Parish Council

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