Roger Symonds and Cherry Beath

At a hastily arranged meeting at the Orchard on 15th July, Paul Britton from English Partnerships (owner of the Yard and funder for the Stone Mines Stabilisation Programme) and Edward Nash, from nash partnership, the firm responsible for submitting the Planning Application, gave details of their plans for Ralph Allen’s Yard.

In his opening comments Paul Britton said that there will be no planning application submitted this year and any start on works will not happen for at least 18 months/2 years. Both Paul and Edward emphasised that this consultation is at a very early stage in the process, but it is envisaged that the development will comprise an Interpretation Centre/Community Space, access to the mines for part of the year, and housing.

They asked for our input before any decision was taken on how big or small the Interpretation Centre would be. Many of the buildings on the site would be kept, in particular the stone frontage to Rockhall Lane, and the number of housing units had to be sufficient to attract investment from the private sector. There would be money available to build the Interpretation Centre.

Some of the points raised by local residents present were:

Traffic problems. Response - the centre would not be open every day and the main use would be educational, with groups visiting by appointment.

Would the present ‘credit crunch’ affect building? Response - the development would attract small builders, who would be better able to ride out the problems than big housebuilders.

Have Housing Associations been contacted, because they can get funding from Government and could build ‘affordable’ homes? Response - yes, housing Associations know about the site.

There would be problems of access from Rockhall Lane and the proposed two courtyards would be too small. Response - these were issues that would be addressed at the detailed design stage.

The development should be an exemplar sustainable development, possibly carbon neutral. Response - this would depend on planning regulations. My comment - this is not strictly true - the Local Plan sets minimum standards. There is no reason why these cannot be exceeded.

There are too many homes and they could be ’sheltered’ accommodation. The development could be highly detrimental to Rockhall Lane residents. Response - the consultation is at an early stage and nothing has yet been decided.

Less houses, better community facility. Financial issue over the land bought at Industrial rates and would now be sold at higher housing rates - should mean a good profit for owners.

Sheltered Housing and starter homes would be a good use of the site. Response - good idea, will be considered.

Interpretation Centre too small - squashed into corner of site.

Why not have parking space where housing is proposed?

Edward Nash said that the developer was looking to the community to tell them what kind of community facility was needed. The response from the audience was “you can tell from the size of this meeting.” He was directed to the ‘vision statement’ compiled by the Heritage Society in 2004. Many people stayed to give their comments to the developer at the end of the meeting and filled in forms for comments. I have also passed on the comments that were given to me before the meeting.

My comments:
This meeting was very well attended, especially given the short notice. The main views were that there was too much housing proposed and that the Interpretation Centre was too small. It is clear that there must be housing if we are to finance the building of the Interpretation Centre, but as yet the balance is not right.

I was reassured that we are at a very early stage and that the developer does want to hear the views of the Community. There will be further consultation and we hope that as a result changes will be made in line with Community wishes.

Cherry and I feel that this is a great opportunity for Combe Down and together with the art project will leave a lasting memorial to the mines, the people who worked in them and to all the effort in recent years to stabilise the mines. We believe that the development must be to the highest standards, as it is not simply the Interpretation Centre that should be a reminder to future generations, but the whole of the development.

Any further comments can be made direct to nash partnership, 23a Sydney buildings Bath BA2 6BZ E mail@nashpartnership.com or through Cherry and myself, by phone, letter. email or on our web site.
Roger