Mace / West Way meeting 24 Aug 17

On the 24th of Aug I had a meeting with Mace and their representatives, the Vale of White Horse DC planning officer Stuart Walker, and our County Councillor Judy Roberts.

Here’s my update (numbered for ease of reference; no particular order):

  1. There is a holding objection on the planning application P17/1507/FUL (this is the temporary change of use application). County do not want to see a full access created (by the former Andrews Dry Cleaners); they claim it would impede traffic on West Way. This is the issue now holding up progress.
  2. Amendments to the application are expected by 4th Sept, which will satisfy the County’s holding objection, and also some of the safety concerns expressed by cyclists.
  3. Once the amendments are received by Vale planners, a two week consultation will begin, anticipated to be from the 4th of Sept. There will be no extension to this consultation, so please put it in your diaries and plan for it now.
  4. It’s anticipated the application will come to Planning Committee in October.
  5. During the demolition of the southern end of the Grant Thorton building and Seacourt Hall, Chapel Way will remain open. Mace are committed to keeping the Co-op trading. That means we’ll be able to access the Co-op parking and Elms Parade in the usual way.
  6. Here’s an overview of the order of demolition and re-fit of the buildings for temporary change of use:
    1. Demolition will begin with ensuring the two building are separate. Seacourt Hall and Grant Thornton (GT).
    2. The southern end of GT will be knocked down. At the same time, re-fit of Elms Court building will commence.
    3. The remaining GT building will be re-purposed for the temporary occupiers.
    4. Community users will be relocated to new premises in GT.
    5. Seacourt Hall will be knocked down.
  7. It will take 2-3 months to get the temporary shops ready for occupancy, so it’s expected this will be just after the Christmas holidays.

That’s all to report really. If you have a specific question, please do feel free to get in touch with me.

In the meantime, we can all help ease the pain by shopping as often as possible in the Elms Parade shops. We want them all to flourish.