Surgery today

A very busy morning and some interesting issues ranging from potential supermarket sites to the inevitable issue of dog poo. The later is starting to get really annoying as I had thought we were making headway and seeing footpaths and pavements a great deal cleaner. However this appears not to be the case with residents reporting problems all over the ward. Specifically we have problems in Pelham stream footpath, Furnleigh footpath and the play centre and surrounding area at Scotts Hill Lane. At CBC we have issued nearly twenty penalty notices this year to irresponsible dog owners but still the message is not getting through. I will alert our team of the areas complained about to see if we can persuade these dog owners to pick up and take home. If residents are aware of the identity of perpetrators please let us know and a warning can be given. I am not entering into discussions about supermarkets as currently we at CBC have three applications to deal with and the matter is entirely one of planning policy, for a conurbation of 47000 persons this seems a bit excessive but the companies are all big boys so they must know what they are doing! It make you realise why the Local Development Framework shortly to be issued for consultation is so important in protecting our Town Centre and sensitive areas. Housing allocation was another matter discussed with a young couple and we really should be cracking on with our affordable housing development to see that these local people are housed locally. Finally I was delighted to assist the good residents of Purewell and Stanpit in their opposition to the demolishing of the pretty 146 year old barn in Purewell. The planning committee understood my logic and refused the application. We now await the application for house building in the gardens so the issue continues, anyhow we did make our point that Purewell is fast being overdeveloped and we should be aware. A very satisfying morning, a lot of issues to follow up but there is one problem which is ongoing and in my opinion going to get worse and that is on street parking. It is causing residents real problems and I will have to advise our parking team that in some areas it is causing obstruction.