Site navigation

Latest activity:

Land fight at Trendlewood Nailsea

RESIDENTS are angry that a piece of land in Nailsea which was open to the public for more than three decades was bought by a private owner.

Around 30 residents turned up at a site meeting on Tuesday morning, despite the rain and bitter winds, to discuss a retrospective planning application for a change of use of the land at the junction of Station Road and Trendlewood Way, which is about 53 metres long and between five and 11 metres wide.

It is the largest number of residents to gather at a site meeting in the town, which highlighted the strength of feeling on the issue, and many felt if it had been held after general work hours, more people would have attended.

The strip of grassland has been an open space since the 1970s, when the west side of Nailsea was developed by Tularose, and is one of many dotted around the town.

This particular land should have been adopted by Avon County Council as the then Highways Authority, but it never was and was left in the developer’s ownership until last year, when it was bought by the owners of neighbouring 2 Station Road.

The owners, Mr and Mrs Whittaker, then fenced off the land and have now applied to North Somerset Council for a change of use from open space to residential use.

Nailsea Town Council’s planning committee was so concerned about the application that it asked the district council’s central area committee to discuss it.

In a letter to North Somerset Council’s senior planning official Catherine Pearce, Nailsea planning and environment chairman Rod Lees said: “The town council believes it is absolutely essential to maintain this land as open space/amenity land and would request action by North Somerset Council to secure this.

“It is critical that this site is not given a change of use to residential curtilage, as a precedent will be created not only in Nailsea but throughout the whole of North Somerset.”

Concerns that will be raised at the committee meeting on Thursday evening are: if a change of use is granted then the owner could develop the land for housing; a laurel hedge planted behind the fence is too close to the pavement; and the proposals would restrict the view of traffic on Station Road from Trendlewood Way.

Paul Marsh was one of the residents at Tuesday’s site meeting. He said: “We will continue to pursue why the council didn’t carry out its duty of taking ownership of the land securing it for the wellbeing of us, our children and grandchildren.”

Another resident said: “Laurel needs to be at least six-foot high to survive and when it has matured it will take over half the pavement. It will restrict the view onto Station Road.”

Nailsea councillor Clare Hunt said: “I have had hundreds of emails about this issue and feel that the approach to the town has been completely changed.”

Comments...

By Carol_Deacon at 10:06 on 05/02/10

After the site meeting Cllr Jeremy Blatchford attended a North Somerset Council central area committee and he has reported back. Mr Blatchford said: "When land at the junction of Trendlewood and Station Road was bought and enclosed by a local house owner the torrent of comment reaching town and district councillors reached a level we have not seen in years. It is claimed that rather than give the land to the predecessor of North Somerset Council the developer allegedly sold it to the house owner. On Thursday, February 4, the district council committee unanimously refused to grant planning approval for it to be used as garden. I also pointed out that as the public have been walking across the land for at least 30 years there are grounds to claim a right of way across it. I also called for the council to issue a High Court writ of Specific Performance requiring the developer to honour the legal obligation to transfer the land the council. Cllr Jan Barber pointed out that the Rotary Club had planted bulbs on it in the past and that local residents had long enjoyed free use of the land. She also called for the solicitor to verify who actually owned the land which North Somerset had been maintaining for over 30 years! Cllr Andy Cole and Cllr Mary Blatchford both spoke against granting the change of use. Andy Cole spoke for many when he expressed concern that once the land became garden there would be another application for another bungalow on the site forthcoming. All were deeply concerned that there was a riding tide of residents trying to seize or buy public open space destroying the much loved openness of the town. Planning meetings see several cases each year where the open space is seized and developed." Cllr Mary Blatchford said after the meeting|: "The usual trick is to move a garden fence and hope no one notices then it is used for an extension. These activities destroy the atmosphere of the town and despite all the sob stories we hear about them being for elderly relatives most of the houses extended houses are up for sale within months." Thank you Jeremy for bringing us up-to-date.

[+]