Make sure the planners know what you want!

We have had reports that one or two of your letters may be getting into the wrong pile. If you have had a reply from the planning department, take a careful look at the line under the Applicants name. It will say "I acknowledge receipt of your letter, your" - and the next word will be 'support', 'objection' or 'comment'. Just ensure it says what it should, and let the planning department know if it doesn't. I doubt there is anything deliberate going on there, just the pressure of work leading to the odd error. To make it easier for them, please make sure you include one of the words - object/support/comment - as applicable to your letter. To remove any ambiguity, 'support' implies you want the supermarket, 'object' implies you don't want it.

Planning Applications Update

We have contacted the planning officer in charge of the supermarket applications, and he says we have until at least mid-July to submit comments/objections. We already have advice concerning the Morrisons applications on our website (http://bit.ly/dBj0Mb), and we will have the Sainsburys suggestions on there shortly (we are awaiting comments from Stephen Gill, our planning consultant, who has been away for a bit). Obviously, the sooner we get letters in the better, but there is still plenty of time. The application number for Sainsburys is 2010/00702 and there is no sign of the Tesco expansion application yet.

Some thoughts about anonymity

It is good to read some responses, as otherwise it would be pointless to write this stuff. One theme in the responses has been the suggestion that our motivation is "anti-supermarket". For myself I have no stronger feelings about supermarkets than I have about filling stations, television, motorways or other normal attributes of life, and being "anti-supermarket" makes no more sense to me that being "anti-television". It is more a matter of when, where, how much and whether other desirable activities cease. The issue for me is therefore part of a larger question of what is good for the local economy and quality of life. I do think that a very large presence of out-of-town retail outlets would not be best for a small town like ours as the disadvantages seem to outweigh the advantages. Others may feel that the impact upon the town is a price worth paying. That is a completely reasonable view, and one worth debating in terms of a number of predictable consequences - benefits and disadvantages.
But I am unsure that this is the best medium for understanding each other's point of view. Anonymity is necessary where someone may feel that their views could cause them personal harm or discomfort, but here we are simply neighbours trying to work out what is best for the town. The tone of anonymous responses can be harsh and dismissive in ways that would not arise in an ordinary conversation. I can't be sure, but if we were to discuss these and other issues over a cup of tea or a beer, I should be surprised if we differed that much on most issues. So my suggestion is that we do just that. A number of us write on this blog, but this is Stephen (Frankel). I should be delighted if those who have responded would email or ring (07879-816020) to find a time to meet up either at my place or in town.

Some positive developments

A good meeting at the Chamber of Commerce yesterday, with some positive ideas for the short and the long term.

As for the short term, amongst the ideas that our friends have offered to strengthen the town centre is a programme of high quality street entertainment, a sort of mini-Covent Garden - folk, classical, opera, mime, circus, comedy etc. The idea was discussed with the business community and police yesterday, and given the thumbs up. Mike Walford, who runs the Wadebridge Folk Festival is willing to coordinate the programme. He is rather overwhelmed at the moment with the coming Festival, so any help and ideas would be very very welcome. We thought we would start with slots on Fridays and Saturdays, and aim to begin in mid-July.

For the longer term, the other good news is that the Wadebridge Town Plan is to be updated to take stock of what has changed since 2004, and reach a consensus on what would be the best path for a sound future. We gather that Lovewadebridge will be invited to contribute to this process. That will give another avenue for our friends to have input into discussions about what sort of future townspeople seek, and how best to bring that about.

Energy black hole gets deeper

On reading the Sainsburys energy statement in more detail, it is apparent that they have not included what they call 'process loads' in their final energy consumption figure. When you add in the energy used for refrigeration and the bakery, the figure doubles to 3500 MWh per year. This equates to about 40% of the energy used by all the homes in Wadebridge. Think about what that means if you add in the energy used by Tesco, including their expansion plans, and the proposed Morrisons (who, to my knowledge, have not supplied an energy statement).

Off to see the St Kew solar plans

Off to hear about the proposed 2 mW solar facility at St Kew and learn more about the practicalities, aesthetics and economics of such a large installation. Rural installations will allow economies of scale, but will have the disadvantage of taking land out of agriculture. Their appearance in the countryside may well trouble people too. Using roof-tops, like the Co-op's, gets over the aesthetic problem as people wouldn't see the panels unless they were interested enough to look up. But the installation costs would be greater. We shall see.

Slightly better effort

Morrisons did a bit better with their 'Sequential test', they identified 10 possible sites in or near the town centre, but they still missed the most suitable one - a site of nearly a hectare that is designated in NCDC's Retail Survey as an 'Opportunity Site'. I guess they just don't want to be in the town centre!

Must try harder

Sainsburys don't appear to have put much effort into the 'Sequential Test' for their planning submission. They are supposed to identify possible sites in the town centre that could be developed, and then tell us why they aren't suitable. Of the 3 sites they identified, one of them is the fire station - don't know as yet why they rejected that one - I'll let you know when I do. By the way, we identified 10 possible sites.

Hopeful developments

Lovewadebridge was greatly encouraged by Cornwall Council's recent "Renewable and Low Carbon Energy in Cornwall" conference at the Eden Project. Things are looking very hopeful for a substantial renewable energy programme in Wadebridge that will bring investment, substantial funds for local projects, and jobs. If you have a particular interest or specialist expertise in this area please do get in touch.

Sainsburys projected turnover

In their Retail Assessment, Sainsbury's say they are expecting a turnover of £26 million a year - that's £3800 for every person in Wadebridge. That assumes a family of 4 will spend £300 per week in Sainsburys alone!

Energy Black Hole

Got to share this with you - the Sainsbury's energy statement says that they expect to use about 1.8 million kWh of power per year in their proposed Wadebridge store - that's about 260kWh for every man, woman and child in Wadebridge. Compared with our home use, Sainsbury's will be using 22 times as much as us per square foot (yes, I'm a bit of a numbers geek).
They do go on to tell us how they will generate 15% of this from renewables - well that's alright then!

Sainsburys Plans Available

The plans for the Sainsburys development are now available to download:
http://bit.ly/cBOoFa
Don't get too bogged down - there is a lot of it. We are in the process of preparing the relevant sections for our planning consultant.

Sainsburys Website

Sainsburys have created a dedicated website to show us just what is on offer in Wadebridge:
http://bit.ly/9jyXCG
They tell us how good it will be for Wadebridge and how many meaningful jobs it will create, while neglecting to mention jobs that will be lost elsewhere.

Yellow site notices

The yellow site notices are now up for the Morrisons applications, so we have until the 28th June to lodge any objections with the planning department.

Planning

Well argued letters from individual members of the public do have a powerful impact upon the outcome of the planning process. We have therefore added some pointers to the sorts of issues that are seen as "material considerations" in the planning process to the website at:

http://bit.ly/dBj0Mb

If you do want to comment on Morrisons plans you might find that helpful.

Successful Meeting

About 140 people attended a very constructive meeting, and excellent to fill the Town Hall again. As always the atmosphere was calm and rational, and again the near unanimous outcome was that not only should we contest developments that would harm the town centre and local economy, but that we can expect to succeed in doing so.
If you were there, I am sure you will agree that Jeremy Rowe handled the event impeccably, and that Stephen Gill gave us the insights into the planning system and the specific areas that we need to address if we are to be effective.

Public meeting - TODAY

Please come along to the public meeting TODAY at 6.00 pm Thursday 3 June in Wadebridge Town Hall.

Come to the public meeting

This is just to remind you that the most important thing you can do for the campaign at the moment is to come along to the Wadebridge Town Hall meeting at 6.00 pm Thursday 3 June.

A good turn-out will be all important to make it very clear that we cannot be bull-dozed into passivity and resignation by the supermarkets' public relations machines.

Our planning consultant, Stephen Gill, has now had a chance to look through some of the key material, and will be able to give us an informed assessment of the possible impact of these developments on the town, and how they fit into the planning process.

We look forward very much to seeing you all tomorrow for what will be a very important meeting.

Our ideas for keeping the heart in Wadebridge

Some comments made on this blog have suggested quite wrongly that LOVEWADEBRIDGE.COM is a purely anti-supermarket campaign.

It's true that our most immediate concern is that new out-of-town developments would take the heart out of our market town. But our long-term interests are much wider than this.

We're committed to ensuring that Wadebridge thrives as a centre for local business and employment. We seek developments that will enhance its prosperity and vitality for future generations. At the same time we'll resist those that may damage the town's character, economy and quality of life.

We believe that local residents and businesses, not outside corporations, should make the key decisions on how our town should best be developed.

We wish to support and collaborate with key bodies in Wadebridge to help attract investment to the town and area while protecting the exceptional quality of life.

Friends of LOVEWADEBRIDGE.COM have suggested a number of initiatives that can build on the town's unusually favourable characteristics. These can be listed under two heads - strengthening the town centre and encouraging high end employment.

Town centre ideas include:
- A shop local loyalty card scheme
- Promoting the town's independent retailers, plus local food and goods
- Improved access, including additional parking
- Outdoor markets
- Street entertainment

High end employment ideas include: -
- eco-tourism
- (Silicon) Camel Valley
- Low-carbon economy
- Creative industries

You can find more information about these initiatives to keep the heart in Wadebridge on our main website at LoveWadebridge.com