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LETTER FROM GALMPTON RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION

Could I ask for the Broadsands RA for URGENT HELP in publicising the following please.

We are looking for as many people as possible to write letters of objection to the Planning Inspectorate, in Bristol, to safeguard the Churston Warborough Common from road building. Again the Council are looking to ignore a Covenant protecting the land for recreational use by all residents.

I've attached a letter of explanation (Covering Newsletter) and a proforma letter that we are distributing to every resident in Galmpton this weekend so they can send it off by the very tight deadline of 17th August 2010. I appreciate that not all the issues raised are relevant to Broadsands but your your residents could use this as a basis, or even just send the whole form. In addition there is the original public notice and the plan showing the land to be taken (in Green) and the pink section offered in return.

Torbay Council proposes creating a longer left-filter lane at Windy Corner, across the present bus stop to speed traffic onto the ring road. They have requested an order from the Secretary of State to take a strip of 1,208 square metres of land from the Common, between Langdon Lane well past the War Memorial, notionally "exchanging" it with 1226 square metres of lower quality grass verge at the start of Bascombe Road (which is already, of course, open to public access). We fear that this could create a precedent for more widening in the future and have a number of concerns.

There was originally a Torbay Council consultation on this in 2006, most of the residents concerns were ignored. The council have cynically timed the publication of the current Public Notice, to acquire the Common land, to coincide with the summer holidays when many people are away and there is a very short period to respond, clearly hoping for a low response rate.

I believe that many of the issues we have raised on the attached letters will be of concern to Broadsands & Elbury residents but I think one of the specific issues would be the effect of faster moving traffic flows from Brixham. This will make trying to cross the Dartmouth Rd to Compass House Drs surgery, Galmpton Primary School and Churston Grammar school even more time consuming and dangerous for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists travelling from and to Broadsands.

I hope you can help.

Many thanks

Paul Crocker

Secretary, Galmpton Residents Association

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