Agenda item

Appendix to the Scrutiny Committee Minutes of 25 September 2017

Statement made by Mrs S Tilstone

I moved  to24 devigier ave inmay 2014 andwithin two months  sawrats runalong myfence andgarden.

Agroup ofpeople hadcongregated  onthe greenoppositeto signa petitionof whichneither  myselfor my neighbourat no26 hadbeen invited,we werethe people most affected  by thewood aswe actuallylived directlyin front  ofit

Contrary  tothepapers claimthat there  was norat problem,i contactedtheenvironmentalhealthas the ratswere hangingoff thetrees, onthe fencesand going across gardensgettingundersheds anddecking. isent e mailsand photographsto thecouncil

Asa newresident  icontactedcllresker whoas anew mayor  wason holiday,she saidshe would  come andsee me butdid notand iwas forcedto contact  cllr rolfe

Ihave kepta tapedrecordingfromcllr rolfesaying they were dealingwith theproblemandthat  aneighbourhad been shootingtherats, infact shootingthirtyofthem. myneighboursaid theywere baggingthem  upand disposing of themin thedustbin

Thecouncil sentout thepest control  peoplewho baited

theareawith trapsplaced wherethey wereallowed and without bait.

Thecouncil also orderedpeople toclear wastedumped and stop puttingout feedand theycut backthe overhanging trees etc

Iwas sodistraught atit alliput myhouse upfor sale afteronly oneyear butremoved itwhen myimmediate neighboursmoved away

theproblem  was greatlyimproved  withmy new neighbourand whenfaced withrats inher gardenlast year we askedto jointhis residentsassosciation,to be toldthat itdid notreally existother thana coupleof people

thosethathad signedthe petitionoriginally hadin fact onlybeen askedfor thatpurpose andhad hadno other contact

Thesituation  hasdefinatelyimproved  thisyear asthere have been nositings of therats buti would like

assurancethatif thiswood isleft aloneit willcontinue to be cutright backand baitedfrom ourproperty

Itmust notbe leftdormant foranother thirty  yearsto

getevenmore overgrown  and unmanageableand the maintainingmust becarried outby peoplewho are authorisednot byresidents

Therat problem  willgrow asthey willnot onlygo into our estate butinto thenew oneat ridgeons

Ifitisto bebuilt onthen thebuilder shouldmake ita more pleasantopen spacefor allto enjoy

Iam notagainst thesurvival ofthe woodlandbut against the claimsthat therewere noproblems

Statement by Mr R Tongue

The decisionyou willbe lookingat tonightshould havebeen decidedon whetherthe land"is no longerrequired forthe purposefor whichit isheld"; i.e.as PublicOpen Space.This doesnot mean thesame thingas decidingwhether the landis redundantas publicopen space.  It is,in simple terms,a decisionwhether thebroad publicinterest isin keepingthe landas PublicOpen Spaceor in appropriatingit forplanning purposesas aprelude toits disposal.Part ofMrHowells ownbrieftothe Cabinet.

Theresidents feelthat the  public interest isto keepas openspace, itwas sectioned106 exactlyfor that purpose,that UDC'sdecision isnot basedon localpublic interestbut on monetarygain, thatMr Howell's argumentsfor disposalare flawed  and biasedto obtainthis monetarygain regardlessof anything else. ThatUDC hadevery intentionright fromthe startin 2014to disposeof this

regardlessof residentsviews.

Wehave readthe onlynow provideto usSurveys, althoughdated June2017 andunder tookon one dayin Aprilas stated.Surveying onone dayof theyear isnot anacceptable methodby anymeans.

Itsstated in them:

Outline planningpermission hasbeen grantedfor thephased re-developmentof thesite toprovide residentialand commercialproperties. Thedevelopment ofthe widersite isunderway withthe constructionof anew Ridgeonsstore completeand clearancework beginningin otherareas.This report  refersto Phaseslc,  ld,3, 5and 6which concernresidential development.

Phase6 onthe OutlinePIanninggranted isat thevery backof Ridgeonson theother sideof thesite to theOpen spacein question,The PublicOpen Spacewas notpart ofany outlineplaning granted, Where isthe OutlinePlanning permission  granted if thiscompany arereferring tothe PublicOpen space as beingphase 6.Itis clear tous thatthis Companyhas undertaken surveysof thePublic OpenSpacehaving beentold thiswas partof theOut lineplanning given, missinformed eitherby UDC orRidgeonsas theydo notsay whom.

Itis alsonoted thatno survey hasbeen carriedout forwhat isunder the topsoil ofthis landwith regard tohazardous substanceswhich wasa concernofthe residentsfrom thevery startin 2014. somethingwe wereinformed hadbeen doneand nothingfound byCllr Rolfe,IF thishas been done where arethe resultsof this.

Weconsider thisCabinet hasfailed inits obligationsto enablea truedecision tobe madeon this

Public OpenSpace andask youtonight torefer itback to them.