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Silverdale New Vision update
06/05/05
February saw the next phase of community consultation for the
former Silverdale Colliery, a partnership project between English
Partnerships, Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council and Staffordshire
County Council. A series of meetings with the local MP Paul Farrelly,
Silverdale Parish Council and local Ward Members were held followed
by a two week exhibition of the proposed masterplan for the area
visited by many including Chancellor Gordon Brown.
Over 400 members of the local community attended the exhibitions
resulting in a good level of feedback to the Silverdale New Vision
Project team.
English Partnerships Regeneration Manager David Charmbury said;
"We felt the consultation period was hugely successful, providing
the project team and partners with an opportunity to talk to members
of the local community. A wealth of valuable feedback has been
received. Since the consultation we have been reviewing the comments
and have arranged further meetings and studies to ensure that concerns
raised during the consultation have been considered."
The comments were grouped into a number of specific subject areas
covering recreation and community facilities, environmental issues,
housing, transportation and traffic, local services and general
responses. The subject areas and comments were reviewed by the
relevant team members and will be incorporated into the proposed
masterplan and discussed at further consultation meetings as appropriate.
The main area of interest, amounting to some 35 per cent of total
comments, regarded the provision of recreation and community facilities.
Following the exhibition a public meeting was held, arranged by
the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, to set up a group of local representatives
to assist in the review and identification of community needs and
plan how facilities could be provided and managed in the long term.
This work will feed into wider studies to be carried out by the
Borough Council on existing facilities, determining future need.
Concerns were raised regarding the likely increase of traffic
on local roads and the routing of pedestrian and cycle paths through
the development area. Project Team consultants are undertaking
a full Transport Assessment to assess the potential effects of
the redevelopment upon the existing transport network and establish
methods of reducing any likely impact on the local road network.
Staffordshire County Council’s Highways Department are being consulted
regarding the Masterplan Proposals.
The introduction of new housing into the area has been met with
an equal level of interest and concern by those responding to the
project team. General feedback focused mainly on the type and style
of housing intended and a high percentage of respondents felt that
this housing could provide accommodation for first time buyers
and older people’s accommodation. Further studies to determine
the mix of housing are ongoing and will form part of the forthcoming
Planning Application.
Environmental concerns regarding likely disruption to wildlife
and the redevelopment of the site will continue to be looked into
at great depth and addressed as part of an Environmental Impact
Assessment. The Assessment will look at the environmental acceptability
of the development and any impact on nature conservation, landscape,
cultural heritage, local population etc. In the event that negative
impacts are identified then measures to minimise these will be
developed and incorporated into the final proposals. The results
of the Environmental Impact Assessment process will be written
up as an Environmental Statement to be submitted with the planning
application.
Further investigation of drainage issues is ongoing. Works are
currently being undertaken by Consultants to develop a sustainable
drainage system to control the quantity of run-off from the development,
improve the quality and to enhance the nature conservation, landscape
and amenity value of the site and its surroundings. Consultants
are preparing a flood risk assessment which will examine the impact
of surface water generated from the proposed development and demonstrate
how the risk of downstream flooding can be controlled.
Comments were also received concerning the capacity of local schools
in the area and ability to cope with the anticipated demand that
300 new homes would have. The local education authority, Staffordshire
County Council, has and will continue to be involved in discussions
regarding current capacity. The appropriate provision of educational
facilities will be established and provided by the County Council.
Several local residents remarked that no information about Silverdale
was available online. This has led to the creation of a dedicated
website www.silverdalenewvision.info which will provide an invaluable
tool for the project team to highlight latest news and developments
to the Masterplan, whilst offering another feedback mechanism for
the community. Free internet access is available locally at Silverdale
Information Centre in The Parade and at Parksite Action Centre
for members of the local community.
Before the planning application
is submitted in the summer a further public meeting is planned
to present the final masterplan and outline the planning process.
Details of this meeting will be widely advertised closer to the
date.
Notes to Editors:
English Partnerships is the Government’s
national regeneration agency. Our aim is to deliver high quality,
sustainable growth in England.
We do this by developing our portfolio
of strategic sites and acting as the Government’s specialist advisor
on brownfield land. We also ensure that surplus public sector assets
are used to support wider Government objectives, especially those
contained in the Sustainable Communities Plan.
English Partnerships helps to create communities where people can afford to live and
want to live, and supports the urban renaissance by improving the
quality of our towns and cities. Information on projects and programmes
can be found at www.englishpartnerships.co.uk.
The £386.5 million
National Coalfields Programme is assisting coalfield communities
throughout England to recover from the decline of the coal industry
by creating new employment, homes, leisure facilities and open
space. It works closely with Regional Development Agencies (RDAs),
the Coalfields Communities Campaign, local authorities and many
other groups to help rebuild fragile economies. It now covers more
than 100 sites across some 4,000 hectares.
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