Councillor Nigel Britter

The details are as follows                                                                                                    Application number 08/00145/FUL                                                                                          Type application Full                                                                                                               Registered 25/02/2008
Applicant: Woodside Developments
Location: 1 Nettleton Road, Cheltenham                                                                           Proposal: Single storey side extension (retention already carried out)  

Case officer: Miss Michelle Payne: 01242 264313 or reply by email.

You can view details via the Councils E-planning pages on their web site. http://planning.cheltenham.gov.uk/PublicAccess/tdc/DcApplication/application 

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OAKLEY COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTRE,

26^TH JANUARY 2007

2.15PM – 4.00PM

•  Join our inaugural meeting at a campaign launch - with the aim of achieving
• An organisation dedicated to opposing greenbelt development proposals.
• A discussion on the issues and timescales involved. 

In a shocking reversal of its previous commitment to defend Cheltenham’s Green Belt, the Conservative leadership of Cheltenham Borough Council has submitted a tentative bid to the Government for ‘Growth Point Status’.  ‘Growth Points’ is a way in which the Government hopes to accelerate new house-building.  In Cheltenham’s case, it hopes to do this by creating a ‘north west urban extension’ of around 4,000 houses mainly on greenfield land along Tewkesbury Road.

Traffic nightmare - This is bad news for Cheltenham, which is already facing the prospect of accommodating 12,500 extra homes in the Cheltenham area by 2026. This would already be the biggest ever increase in housing in Cheltenham in an equivalent period of time. Building this ‘urban extension’ will make matters even worse.  Not only will it destroy a large area of Green Belt.  It will also throw large amounts of extra traffic on already-congested roads like Tewkesbury Road and Princess Elizabeth Way , with a knock-on effect on Gloucester Road and numerous residential roads in our area.   

Why we mustn’t give in - The Tories should have fought this disastrous scheme – which is what they promised to do.  But instead they have hauled up the white flag and put out the begging bowl. They are hoping that they will receive part of the money the Government is offering councils to speed up house-building.  At the December meeting of the Borough Council, Liberal Democrats tried to get the Tories to withdraw the Growth Points bid, but they and their PAB allies refused to do so.  Now Lib Dems want to mobilise local opinion to fight this urban extension – which they have dubbed ‘Toryville’ – and not to give in to it. 

Benhall & The Reddings Ward councillor Nigel Britter says: ‘This urban sprawl is yet a further example of the destruction of our countryside it will also be a disaster for Cheltenham, clogging up our existing roads and requiring massive new road-building and will hamper the redevelopment of derelict and under-used sites in Cheltenham, which really offers the best possibilities for creating more affordable housing.’     

The following application has been received for week ending 14.12.2007

Red Apple Super Stop, 394 Gloucester Road, Cheltenham GL51 7AT

These premises already have a licence for sales/supply of alcohol off the premises only.

Application to vary hours of operation for off sales for 24 hours a day daily and Late Night refreshment to be supplied from 2300 hours to o0500 hours daily.

Consultation period ends 9th January 2008

For further information please contact Richard Griffiths 
Cheltenham Borough Council 01242 775200
richard.griffiths@cheltenham.gov.uk

LIBERAL Democrats in Cheltenham have welcomed the election of Nick Clegg as the new Leader of the Party. The result of the vote of Liberal Democrat members was announced on Tuesday 18th December.  New Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg MP today promised to give a voice to the people of Cheltenham who feel ignored by oliticians.Setting out his priorities after being elected as party leader, Nick Clegg said:“I am greatly honoured to have been chosen by my fellow party members to be the new leader of the Liberal Democrats. “Throughout Cheltenham Liberal Democrats are already working hard to reach out to local people and listen to their concerns. In my leadership I will be taking that spirit nationwide, moving beyond party politics and making liberalism connect with the millions of people who share our values.“Labour and the Conservatives have failed Britain’s families. I will lead my party to change politics, and change

Commenting Councillor Nigel Britter said: “Nick Clegg is going to be a great leader. Labour and the Conservatives share so many policies. The time has come for a politician who will speak up for real people and local communities - like ours in

Live performers will be hitting the streets of
Cheltenham thanks to a flood recovery grant of £50,000 from the South West Regional Development Agency (RDA).

Two live performance events – one linked to the Folk Festival in February, the other taking place across the Easter weekend – will see some of the country’s best street musicians and artists entertaining town centre visitors.

The live performance events will be hosted by Cheltenham Borough Council after the money was secured by the council’s economic development and tourism teams. The events will help to boost the local economy helping hotels, restaurants and retailers to recover some of their lost income following the summer’s flood crisis

Members of the public are being invited to share their views about the town’s recovery following the summer’s floods at a drop-in session on Thursday 13 December 2007.

The event will be jointly hosted by Cheltenham Borough Council and Gloucestershire County Council from 3pm until 6.30pm at Cheltenham Town Hall (drawing room). 
Councillors and officers will be on hand to tell people about the things that have been done since the floods and what is planned for the near future.

Representatives of various other organisations, including Gloucestershire Highways, the Citizens Advice Bureau, Primary Care Trust and Cheltenham Volunteer Centre will also be there to offer information and advice about the recovery.

During the session, residents will be asked: 

• What still needs to be done to repair your local area?
• What did you think of the information you received about the emergency and recovery?
• What can be done to help you build better community resilience?

Your chance to see the final four design solutions which have now been shortlisted by the judging panel in Cheltenham Borough Council’s Royal Institute of British Architects open design competition.

The plans can be viewed at the Municipal Offices, Promenade, Cheltenham and at the Art Gallery & Museum Clarence Street, from now until 21^st December during normal opening hours. They can also be seen online at www.cheltenhamartgallery.org.uk/buildingforanewfuture

The Tory leadership of Gloucestershire County Council has refused to take action over buses throughout the County which are inaccessible to some elderly people and to those with disabilities.  Liberal Democrats on the County Council called upon the Tory cabinet to look into addressing the issue at Wednesday’s meeting of full council, but the cabinet member bluntly refused. 

Cllr Bill Whelan, Liberal Democrat member for Churchdown St John’s, said: “Providing concessionary bus fares for the elderly is a joke when so many of the buses can’t be accessed by those who hold bus passes.  These people are vulnerable members of our community who depend upon the buses for their independence.  We need to improve access. 

“I requested that the cabinet conduct a review of all the bus routes in Gloucestershire to find out how many of them provide low floor vehicles, and enter talks with service providers who are failing to meet this need.  The cabinet refused even to look into the specific issue of the 97, 98 and 06 bus routes which are known to provide insufficient access for the elderly and disabled.  Frankly, I am appalled.  Why won’t the cabinet spare the time to look into this issue?” Following his appeal at yesterday’s council meeting, Cllr Whelan presented the cabinet with a petition calling for action to improve access to buses.  The petition was signed by over 2,370 people. 

Cllr Dr John Cordwell, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Planning and Transport, said: “This Tory administration was elected on a promise to support elderly people to live independently in their own homes.  Yesterday, they broke their promise by turning a blind eye to the transport difficulties of the elderly and disabled who live in the community.  They could have looked into improving demands for disabled access in the Council’s contracts with bus companies.  They could have looked into negotiating with the bus companies who are able to make a difference.  Instead they have chosen to do nothing.”