ABERGELE LDP ACTION GROUP - STATUS UPDATE

As a result of all the effort and support from Abergele Residents we submitted a group objection at the beginning of July with nearly 1700 signatures, Abergele Town Council submitted one with over 600 signatures and our AM (Darren Millar) and MP (David Jones)also submitted objections on on our behalf.

A big thankyou to everyone who contributed to the fighting fund. We collected enough money to cover the Planning Consultant bill and all of our printing costs for the leaflet, posters and placards.

We now need to wait and see if all of this effort has had any effect - we don't expect to hear anything for a couple of months at least. As soon as we hear anything we will post it on the blog.

Abergele LDP Action Group

Public Meeting - Kimnel Manor 5th June 09

Over 400 people attended the Public Meeting held at the Kinmel Manor on Friday evening, which was the culmination of recent efforts. Stan Yates, Conwy’s Chief Planning Officer and other attending dignitaries were left in no doubt to the overwhelming opposition to the LDP proposals.

Even though the long awaited Housing Needs Assessment and Flood Risk assessment for Towyn/Kinmel Bay are not yet available, the Council have included the proposed housing developments on green field sites for Abergele simply on the basis of candidate sites put forward by developers, rather than on the needs of the community, or indeed having due regard and proper consideration for other proposed developments in Conwy and neighbouring counties.

The Council have acknowledged that there is no public funding for the bypass, and have confirmed that developers building houses along its length will pay for it. The reality is that the bypass is either wanted or needed, and it is simply a feeble excuse for developers to make millions of pounds at the expense of Abergele losing what little green open space it has left.

The gypsy/traveller site search area has been included in the plan at the last minute further to pressure from the Welsh Assembly Government. Of all the potential locations for such a site in the County, the decision to choose east of Abergele is the most bizarre and ill thought out.

We are aware of other towns and villages within Conwy that have also been excluded from the LDP process through lack of effective consultation. In addition to this, the technically difficult objection forms make it impossible for the layperson to complete properly and therefore have their say. This clear abuse of government power and failure to follow the democratic process prompted AM Darren Millar to announce at the meeting that he would be seeking a Judicial Review of Conwy County Council’s handling of the LDP process.

Our next step is to coordinate completion of the objection forms, which are currently being prepared by our planning consultant. At present, these forms are the only accepted way of objecting to the proposals and they must be submitted by 3rd July 2009. This is going to be a mammoth task, and with help we will be organising drop in centres to help residents fill in the forms.

The Abergele LDP Action Group was formed only four weeks ago when a few neighbours got together to make a stand against these proposals. We have been inundated with expressions and gestures of support, and the attendance at the events we have organised is a clear mandate from the residents of Abergele to carry on the campaign. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us and hope you will all continue to do so in our efforts to amend the LDP proposals for Abergele.

Honk your Horn!!!

The second Conwy Council public meeting held at Abergele Library was very well attended by concerned residents. There was a constant queue of people waiting to ask the planners searching questions and make sure they were aware we don't want any of the proposed plans within the LDP. The Abergele LDP Action Group also turned up in numbers to ensure the Council Planners were fully aware of the level of feeling in the town. Placards were at hand to ensure everyone knew what we were demonstrating about - and the honk your horn if you disagree with the LDP message was a great success with the Planners having a constant audible reminder. Funnily enough Conwy Council drafted in 3 police officers from Conwy to oversee the public meeting - not sure why they felt this was necessary. We set up a table on the pavement outside the library to gather signatures from residents and answering any questions anyone had on the proposed plans.

Protest Walk - A Great Success

The protest walk arranged for Sunday 31st May was a great success - a big thankyou to all those who attended.

The protest walk was attended by over 400 people including representatives from Abergele Town Council and Darren Millar AM.

We have gathered a total of 500 valid signatures on our petition - the results of which are shown below. A show of hands at the protest walk also gave us the assurance that the majority of Abergele are fully behind us in rejecting the development proposals for Abergele detailed within the LDP.

We have included a link to a Slideshow of the Protest Walk on YouTube at the bottom of the blog - go on have a look

Next Stop
Protest outside Abergele Library during Council LDP Roadshow on Thursday 4th June between 4pm and 6.45pm.

Public Meeting at Kinmel Manor on Friday 5th June at 6.30pm

Positive Meeting with Darren Millar

The Abergele LDP Action Group recently met with Darren Millar to discuss the Conwy LDP and how it affects Abergele. The outcome of this positive meeting can be seen in the press release below:-

FUTURE OF ABERGELE – RESIDENTS MUST HAVE THEIR SAY

Clwyd West AM Darren Millar is encouraging residents in Abergele to send him their views on local authority plans for the town.

Darren Millar met with representatives of the Abergele LDP Action Group this week to discuss the proposals which include, a Gypsy Traveller Transit Site, relief road and more housing for the town - including an area on popular local playing fields. The meeting was the second held with the campaigners so far.

Darren Millar said, 'I want to congratulate the Action Group for their hard work trying to secure changes to the Conwy Local Development Plan.

'It is clear from the many hundreds of representations made to both my office and the Action Group so far that the current proposals for the town are totally unacceptable to local residents - it is vitally important that these views are not ignored.

'I want to encourage all residents to have their say by sending me their views.'

Alasdair Rettie, Chairman of the Abergele LDP Action Group, said, 'We are delighted to have the support of Darren Millar in our campaign. Together with the residents of Abergele we can make a difference, I urge everyone to make their opinions heard to help overturn these LDP proposals which will destroy the identity of Abergele forever.’

Darren Millar and the Abergele LDP Action Group have agreed to work together for:

• alternative solutions to relieve the congestion problems in Abergele.
• the protection of local playing fields and other green open spaces from unnecessary development.
• the scrapping of plans to develop housing along the scenic route between Abergele and Llanfair Talhaiarn.
• the scrapping of proposals for a Gypsy/Traveller Transit Site in Abergele.

As well as sending in their views residents are encouraged to attend the following:

• A protest walk organised by the Action Group on Sunday, 31st May leaving from the playing fields opposite Threeways Garage at 2pm.
• An open day to discuss the development plan with representatives from Conwy County Borough Council between 4pm and 6.45pm on the 4th June at Abergele Library.
• A public meeting organised by Abergele Town Council at 6.30pm on Friday 5th June at the Kinmel Manor Hotel.

Abergele LDP Action Group will be meeting David Jones MP later today.

RIGHT THROUGH THE MIDDLE !!!!

The proposed 'relief' road will carve right through the middle of this view - bringing with it a Gypsy and Traveller site and housing - effectively increasing Abergele by at least 25%.

Don't let this happen. Have your say, support us on the Protest Walk at 2pm on 31st May from Threeways Roundabout following the any footpaths that will disappear as a result of these plans.

Bypass - NO THANKYOU

4000 Newsletters distributed throughout Abergele

We have just completed the distribution of our first newsletter to all households in Abergele.

A big thankyou to all the people who helped deliver them to the 4000+ homes, and to all those who offered their help. In the end we had more volunteers than we needed.

The level of support we have received so far is very encouraging - but we all need to continue the fight and ensure the voice of Abergele is heard.

You can contact us on the following email address:-

email:- abergeleldp@yahoo.co.uk

Abergele LDP Action Group Newsletter

We have written first newsletter outlining the concerns we have about the Conwy LDP and the affect it will have on Abergele. The newsletter also outlines what has been done to date along with several important dates for your diary. You can view the newsletter by clicking on pages below (the pages will open in new window).

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Healthy News for Abergele

Spire Abergele Consulting Suites located in Abergele's North Wales Business Park is set to open in early June. The Private Healthcare venture will provide six ultra modern and spacious suites all with easy access at ground level. This facility will fill a major gap in private healthcare since the closure of the North Wales Medical Centre in Llandudno. The venture will see some 35 experienced North Wales consultants use the facility.

Further details can be found at the following link:- http://www.coastandcountrymagazine.co.uk/

We understand that the business park is also being considered to house a much larger private healthcare venture providing up to 300 new jobs. Again great news for Abergele.

So why mention it in this Blog?

Well...
Although bringing well needed jobs and private healthcare facilities to Abergele and North Wales the additional traffic generated by employees and patients attending the Spire Abergele consulting suite will have to pass through the town centre. (although it has been suggested to us that the traffic will be encouraged to travel along A55 to Llandulas and then drive back to Business Park!!!! Brilliant plan - mmm)

The suggested bypass road between Threeways roundabout and Llanfair Rd will also not have any impact on this additional traffic..

The solution to this problem is surely to build another slip road off/on A55 on west side of Abergele. This would also alleviate some of the traffic congestion experienced within Abergele.

If that wasn't enough for those bypass enthusiasts why not build one between Threeways roundabout and Pensarn - that would also relieve a lot of traffic which currently either goes through the centre of town or takes the rat-run running past Emrys Ap Iwan.

And whilst I'm on a planning roll, why not also implement proper filter lanes at the traffic lights in the centre of Abergele at junction of Market St and Water St (road could be widened taking some of land in front of the Gwindy if required). Lower cost than a bypass, probably relieve some of the traffic pressures - which actually are only a problem during school run and early evening.

Comments on the Conwy LDP Proposals: by a Concerned Abergele Resident

We have received a huge amount of support in way of emails, telephone calls and personal messages from the residents of Abergele. We thought it would be good to publish some of the messages received. We plan to do this on an ongoing basis as the campaign develops. Here is the first:-

Conwy County is a beautiful area, and residents enjoy quality of life and environment, the beautiful views it affords, and feelings of security.

So what has Abergele done to be treated as shabbily as the Council are doing with the LDP?

There has been no effective publicity about meetings where we can have our say – newspapers and the library are the only way this has been publicised according to the documents I have read on the County Council website. As a result, we are presented with a fait accompli.

It seems we are stuck with an LDP which promises to take away our children’s football fields, destroys the walks and scenery that the outskirts of Abergele and the hills around us are known for, gives freedom to build housing estates even when a proven case doesn't exist in addition to a bypass which we don’t need. All of this creates security worries which I am sure will make people leave their homes over. By giving freedom of the town and surrounding district to travellers, which we don’t have to seek evidence of undesirability for – there are enough recent and current news reports to give evidence of the disturbance on peoples’ lives that this will cause.

I also believe that even some Town and County Councillors were not even kept up to date with the plan. This isn’t democracy. We must have a well advertised Public Meeting to let the people of Abergele have their say about this destruction of our quality of life and environment.

A Concerned Abergele Resident

Journal - Travellers' Camp Plan an 'Outrage'

Click on picture to read story on page 3 of Journal

In our efforts to stop the proposed developments within Abergele we have been trawling through the Conwy Council minutes and agendas published on their website - great thing democracy - you get to access a lot of data relating to how the Council operate!

One of the questions that everyone has been asking us is how we have all not not heard about the proposed developments until this late stage in the proceedings - and we are at a late stage - the Deposit LDP is the final stage at which the community can affect what goes into the Local Development Plan. The only way we can force changes to the plan at this stage is by completing a complex technical form (Representation Form) and arguing why we object using specific arguments against 10 tests for soundness!!! We are currently interviewing several Planning Consultants with a view to hiring one to provide advice in completing the Representation Form.

Anyway back to that burning question - why did we not know about this?

Answer - we should have - read the interesting extract taken from CCBC minutes below:-

"The draft Conwy LDP 'Preferred strategy' was subject to 6 weeks statutory consultation in October 2006. Representations made by the Welsh Assembly Government on the Preferred strategy in October 2006 informed the Council that the strategy required further work and consultation on a Revised Preferred Strategy should take place prior to preparing a Deposit plan. Following a meeting held between CCBC planning policy and the WAG on 29th June 2008, a request has been made by the WAG for the Conwy LDP to go straight to deposit and disregard their previous advice on the preferred strategy in order to avoid possible substantial penalties set out in the European Waste Directive."

Can someone please explain to me what the European Waste Directive has to do with this, and more importantly when was it acceptable to short circuit or avoid the democratic process altogether just to avoid a penatly? Several words spring to mind - but I don't think I can publish them within this Blog.

Article in Journal - Wednesday May 13th

Press coverage of the Public meeting held in Abergele Scout Hall on Saturday 9th May, where over 150 Abergele residents gathered in protest at plans which will see the destruction of a large section of greenfield land on the South east of Abergele to provide two housing estates with over 300 houses. The proposed sites will see the loss of the football pitches (believed to be owned by Ysgol Emrys Ap Iwan and subject to a 106 Agreement -we are currently investigating this - more on this to follow later) which are regularly used by the youth of Abergele and also see the destruction of the picturesque view of Tower Hill as you leave Abergele on the Llanfair Road.

Both sites will be joined together by a totally unnecessary bypass which will gouge through the Abergele countryside at great expense to the taxpayer destroying hedgerows, public footpaths mature trees and an abundance of animals, flora and fauna. The loss to Abergele will be immense and totally irreplaceable.

Topping it all off the Conwy County Borough Council have thrown in a site search area covering the complete South East of Abergele to provide a site for Gypsy and Traveller families!! An interesting side point here - part of the LDP document set released by Conwy County Borough Council contains a Gypsy and Traveller Site Demand Assessment document, BACKGROUND PAPER 22 which outlines thefacilities required for this site and where it should be positioned to ensure they are not disadvantaged. We would estimate that this document has probably cost the taxpayer in the region of £10,000 to produce!!! If we are wrong, I would welcome the Council correcting us on this point. We will of course request the actual cost from the Council as concerned taxpayers of Abergele.

The Abergele LDP Action Group are working closely with the residents of Abergele, David Jones (MP), Darren Millar (AM) and Local Town Councillors to ensure that these plans are removed from the LDP.

First Public meeting was held in the Scout Hall in Abergele on Saturday 9th May and was very well attended by over 150 concerned residents from Abergele, several local councillors and members of the press.

We were very pleased with the response from the residents of Abergele and the attendance considering such short notice and the small area which we had distributed to. Again we apologise to anyone we missed out, this was purely down to the lack of time we had to organise the event.
We have set up this blog and you can email us at abergeleldp@yahoo.co.uk

Here are some of the avenues we are currently exploring;

• Committee members meeting held with the lead Campaigners’ against Gainsborough House today ( 10/05/09)
• Press release/TV coverage.
• Contacting wildlife/preservation groups.
• Further leaflet drops / poster campaign– your help would be invaluable!
• Community walk from the football field by Threeways garage towards Tower Hill to raise awareness of what will be lost – invite press /TV.
• Write to all the traders in Abergele including the new owners of Gwrych Castle – potential death of the town centre.
• Appointing a Planning Consultant to complete the representation forms in accordance with the test of soundness. There will be a cost associated with this, which we are currently obtaining quotes for.
• A meeting has been arranged with Darren Millar AM for Friday 15thMay to gain his support in fighting these plans.

Once again we need to reiterate we cannot fight this on our own, this has to come from the community and we must keep the momentum going!

Thanks for your support!

Abergele LDP Action Group