METEOR FORD SITE: can the Committee make an informed decision?
DECISION ON THURSDAY ***Join us at the meeting***
The planning officer is recommending approval – the final decision will be taken by the planning committee on Thursday 10 February. The Save Moseley Village campaign hopes that as many people as possible will be able to show their objection by turning up for the meeting at the Council House at 11am.
PETITION
A petition signed by 2404 individuals was presented to Birmingham Council Planning Department yesterday (8 Feb). Ten village traders were involved in collecting petition signatures and 41 have signed a statement to the council confirming that they object to this development because of the harm it will cause to Moseley.
LETTER TO COUNCILLORS
Save Moseley Village wrote to councillors yesterday (8 Feb) – see SaveMoseleyVillage attached below – urging the committee to reject the application based on the significant evidence supporting refusal and the overwhelming objection of the local community. It is also pointing out that if the committee is to make an informed judgment on this case they need to have access to all relevant information.
CAMPAIGNERS MEET PLANNING OFFICER
Jo Jones and Colin Gough of the Save Moseley Village campaign, and Esther Boyd of Moseley Forum, met David Wells, the planning officer today to discuss their concerns that about omissions in the report to the Planning Committee. Information, including key concerns identified in a transport analysis commissioned by Moseley Forum, will now be a submitted as an addendum.
TRAFFIC ISSUES
Traffic already is a significant problem in the area and is set to get worse if the development is approved. Queuing traffic on Oxford Road in the morning rush hour already extends more than 100m beyond the proposed only vehicular entrance to the site. Added to this, local residents are very concerned by a current daily trend by motorists to beat the queues by driving down to the junction with St. Mary’s Row on the wrong side of the road – see photo on last page of SaveMoseleyVillage attached below. This happens at exactly the time when parents are taking children to the local school and the playgroup opposite the site creating significant danger to pedestrians. The police have now been informed. Local resident Caroline Wilmin was nearly hit by a car travelling the wrong way along this road.
TRADERS’ FEARS
Charmain Hannaby, owner of Winspers Florist says: “I’m immensely worried about Tesco coming to Moseley both on a personal level and from a business perspective. This store has been here for over 40 years and with Tesco’s big ideas and big buying I will be forced out of the market for items such as flowers. It would sadden me to see any business here struggling and I object to the application fully. Quite simply put, Tesco will be the death of Moseley.”
Moseley Business Association (MBA) have now written to the Planning Department about the concerns of local traders should this development be approved.
TESCO HAS DAMAGED MOSELEY ALREADY
Many long-time Moseley residents are viewing this current application with anger and a sense of irony. After all, it was Tesco, who in the 1970s, were responsible for the destruction of a row of attractive, gable ended, independent shops in the heart of Moseley village in order to built a concrete modern supermarket. When Tesco walked out of Moseley in 1991 the shop was boarded up, led to vacant properties nearby and a general down turn in the prosperity of Moseley Village.
SAVE MOSELEY VILLAGE from the damage of the traffic impact, and the retail impact, that this large Tesco store would bring.
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Comments
Parking
It has been brought to my attention that in addition to the parking within the planning proposal, additional spaces (? for staff) have been promised on the (currently to let) ?Railtrack owned land on the opposite side of St Mary's row.
This is obviously the site for the proposed reopening of the Moseley Station which (although consideration has been pushed back yet again) has continued to be campaigned for by many and has not been ruled out.
Given the furore regarding parking I am surprised that the use of this space has not been 'let out of the bag'.
Presumably these additional spaces would be necessary for the life-time of the new development which means that the re-opening of the station will not be possible for many many years.
If the reopening of the station is to take place the development will lose these promised spaces.
Does the developer know something about this land and the proposed reopening of the station which the public does not? Is this why the availability of extra car parking has been promised?