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NORTHGATE DEVELOPMENT
PROOF OF EVIDENCE
Vic Button
25th September 2005
I believe that no compelling case in the public interest exists for the confirmation of the CPO’s in the Chester City Councils (CCC) ‘Statement of Case'.
Much of the under utilised ‘Order’ land mentioned by the Council, has been neglected by them to enhance their prospect for developing the area.
Buildings such as the old Masonic hall and the City Mission halls are all part and parcel of our heritage and is what makes Chester so interesting. - they are all to be demolished in advance of the development.
The Bowling Green is one of the last remaining green areas within the city walls on the western side and should be retained.
I consider it a ‘crime’ that the scheme will involve bulldozing down recently constructed substantial buildings that cost tens of millions of pounds to erect, such as the Forum Shopping Centre and also other various ‘grand’ office buildings.
Library
I believe that the public have been misled about the proposed Library in so far as they have failed to advertise the fact properly in some of their literature that it is above retail shops and can only be accessed by stairs or lifts.
Buses
I refer to a letter from a bus operator, that I have sighted, regarding the proposed Bus Station. In it he states that “with only 15 stands, I don’t think we will cope with existing departures let alone any increase in services, there is insufficient lay over spaces for buses and am unhappy with a drive in and reverse out bus exchange” and goes on to say that it would be dangerous especially for schoolchildren. [enclosure 1]
I believe it is against government policy to close Bus Stations, yet the CCC has closed the Delamere Bus Station and is to close the Town Hall Bus Station in advance of the development, causing inconvenience to everyone.
[enclosure 2b]
It simply does not make sense for the Council to bring about the demise of the Bus Stations, when they themselves say that they want more people to use buses to reduce cars in the City, in fact this is the reason given by them for reduction in car parking spaces within the Development!
Shops
Grave concern over the retail implications for the earlier proposed development by CCC &Scottish Widows, was shown by the Government Office of the Northwest Inspector, and the plans ‘called in’ - and this scheme had only 36 retail units! - This scheme was abandoned.
The historic ‘Rows’ will be affected by this massive retail development- these need protecting with the implementation of a retail capacity study.
Also there are many shops lying idle in the town already. An up to date survey needs to be done.
I Believe the CCC have not demonstrated that there is a need for this development, it is ‘out of scale’. They have not demonstrated that the new Bus Station will cope with future increased passengers.
There is no extra parking for residents or visitors within the scheme.
There has been no adopted Local Plan for 22 years.
Historic Chester
I believe this Development will detract from Chester's special character as it is not compatible with its surroundings and with the conservation and enhancement of the historic fabric. It should not be permitted because it will harm the unique character of the city and its visual, architectural merit. [enclosure 2]
Street names
I have noted that the CCC’s admission that some existing long standing street names will be lost, this is against the CCC’s own guide lines in ’Chester the future of an Historic City’
Traffic
I believe that there should be a Public Enquiry over the whole scheme because it is controversial, it is too large, not needed, not sufficiently thought through in terms of potential impact on retail and traffic in the city centre and the operation of bus services.
The Western Relief Road is not yet in place.
Has consideration been given to the ‘cocktail effect’ of the combined town developments?
MARKET
I believe any move to the new market from the current market should be done in one go - all traders should move together, this is the only sensible way, indeed, the CCC are obliged under local legislation to make the new market large enough to achieve this.
To comply with the law, and as an afterthought, the Council are now offering room for traders on the first floor, it is my contention that this does not meet the requirements of the ‘Acts’, as this is not “convenient”, and I also have evidence by the Market Traders Federation, that two tier market systems do not work.
I note that under local legislation, the CCC can not close the existing market until the new on is completed. This effectively means that the development will be blocked and unable to go ahead until the problems are resolved.
Grave mistakes have been made in the past.
I believe that questions should be raised as to why the CCC, on the outset of the drawing up the Development plans, did not take into consideration the importance of the local market ‘Acts’ surely, as they themselves formulated them, they must have known about them, as they must also have known about them in the Sixties when they illegally demolished the then Chester Market hall - a regretful mistake well documented over the years.
I also note that the existing Market has been neglected by the Council and point to numerous examples of this: lack of maintenance over the years, dirty floor and damaged stalls, failure to rent out stalls and shops , stalls discarded and not replaced, inappropriate signage - the only sign centre of town faces the wrong way. Also there is a poor state of decor, poor customer flow resulting from lack of ‘draw through’ attractions, no proper entrance/exits at the rear of the market, and imported outside markets competing with our Market. [enclosure 2]
I am aware that permission has not been granted to the CCC for market stalls to be relocated on Northgate Street . (This is needed under section 115a and b of the Highways Act 1980)
The Chester Public Market belongs to the people, they have not been consulted by the council over its closure.
Environmental
There will be pollution from the compact Bus Station, and there is no clear information or policy on the environmental effects on kings Street or Hunter Street.
The environmental assessment for planning permission was carried out by the Council themselves! - it is my belief that their idea of just monitoring the situation at a future date is not satisfactory.
I believe that, although mentioned on several occasions in the CCC’s ‘Statement of Case’, the meaning of Sustainable Development is not really understood by them! - Needlessly knocking down buildings for large development schemes that are not really wanted or needed, uses up our finite resources and is a cause of Global Warming, the consequence of which can be catastrophic as we have seen recently in the United States.
The government has already sent out warnings to councils about wasteful ventures.
[enclosure 3]
The Council should keep to the spirit of Agenda 21 - sensible action at a local level. Self sufficiency is at the core, with local production for needs, indeed, true wealth can only be created at a local level, multinationals only bleed the local economy of money and destroy the social glue provided by real shops.
Do we really need another large department store in the middle of our historic city selling overpriced designer goods imported from the other side of the planet.
This is definitely not what can be seen as sustainable practice! The needs of the local people are well met.
I believe the development is not justified, not needed, and is a ‘waste’, therefore there are overriding environmental issues that are of sufficient weight to justify a refusal of the entire scheme.
Archaeology
I note that the CCC have admitted that some damage will occur to the Roman
Remains which lie under the proposed development, this conflicts with their own policy (env 31) which states that any development that would adversely affect archaeology will not be supported.
It is also worth noting that archaeological remains are a valuable but fragile part of our heritage, and once destroyed can never be replaced. Some have already been destroyed in the 1995 refurbishment of the Forum.
I believe that building on top of a Designated area of Archaeological Importance will have insurmountable problems.
At great risk is the Roman Elliptical Building, this is a unique building as there is no other example known to exist in the whole of the Roman Empire.
I believe that instead of burying this and the Roman Barrack blocks under tons of concrete, consideration should be given to displaying them to enhance Chester's tourist attractions and Chester's Roman image.
Conflict of interest
I am aware that there is a conflict of interest in so far as the ‘Applicant’ for the scheme are both the CCC and the Developer, and note that 14.3 of the Councils ‘Statement of Case’ confirms the ‘Head of Development’.
Independent archaeological assessments need to be made by National and International bodies, before any work is started on the Development.
Planning
I have seen no evidence that a survey has been carried out on the old Victorian and Roman sewage systems that lies beneath the proposed Northgate development.
They are apparently set in soft sandstone and will be suspect to collapse under the heavy weight of the new concrete structures, causing flooding.
I believe that I will be issued a ‘Notice to Quit’ by the CCC before the CPO’s have been considered, and also believe that my Human Rights may be affected.
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