MARTIN TELLS TRUST: NOW TALK TO LIDO AND RESIDENTS (Cheltenham Liberal Democrats)

Cheltenham Liberal Democrats <info@cheltlibdems.org.uk>

MARTIN TELLS TRUST: NOW TALK TO LIDO AND RESIDENTS

July 23, 2010 10:37 AM

CHELTENHAM MP Martin Horwood has told Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust to go back to the drawing board and consult properly with local residents and the Sandford Lido after the defeat of its multi-storey car park plans by local campaigners. A planning appeal by the Trust and its car park operator Vinci was rejected in a damning verdict this week by a planning inspector after earlier being turned down by Cheltenham Borough Councillors.

Planning inspector Simon Rawle rejected the hospital's appeal in unusually strong terms: "I heard a considerable amount of evidence about this heritage asset at the Inquiry" he said. "I also took the opportunity to visit this facility during the site visit. The appellant considers that the significance of this asset has been exaggerated. I could not disagree more." Later in his report he stated: "the introduction of the proposed development which would loom large above the common boundary would have a dramatic and harmful impact on the way that users experience the Lido"

Martin, who objected to the plans and attended the appeal in person, commented: "This is great news. For once, the Planning Inspectorate have got it absolutely right and supported local people and councillors. The Lido's wonderful setting is safe. I'm afraid I told the Trust two years ago that they needed to consult thoroughly with their neighbours before going ahead with plans for a car park. They chose to ignore that advice and pressed on regardless of local opinion. The result has been the most enormous waste of time and money and a lot of unnecessary aggravation. They have damaged relations with local residents and set back the provision of much-needed additional parking at Cheltenham General by years."

"The path ahead should now be perfectly clear. They still need the car parking spaces and the inspector actually supported this as 'entirely reasonable'. But they now need to start where they should have started two years ago: by talking properly to their neighbours, including the Lido, finding out about their perfectly reasonable concerns and only then planning a car parking solution that takes them fully into account."