SAST statement on Sexey’s School
The Town Council has today received this statement from Sherborne Area Schools Trust:
Extraordinary meeting to discuss Sexey’s on Wednesday
An extraordinary meeting of the Town Council will be held in the Community Hall at 8pm on Wednesday.
The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the likely impact of a proposal by the Regional Schools Commissioner for the South West that Sexey’s School Academy be transferred to Sherborne Area Schools’ Trust, and to decide what role Bruton Town Council should play in safeguarding the interests of current and future Bruton residents, including parents.
Although this is a Council meeting, at the outset there will be an opportunity for interested members of the public to ask questions or express their points of view, at the discretion of the Chair.
Real life truck test proves Brewham Road pavement proposals are deadly
On Wednesday afternoon Mark George, owner of the Brewham Road Renault truck service station, helped the Town Council to conduct a real world test of the pedestrian proposals that Somerset County Council Highways have deemed safe by computer simulations.
Mark drives Brewham Road every day, so is no stranger to the downhill right-angled turning from the Frome direction. Driving one of his business’ articulated trucks very slowly, he proved that the Acorn Property Group proposals for a 1.2 metre wide pavement could be deadly to pedestrians.
Fin McNab and Richard Latchman of transport design experts Streets Reimagined marked out the proposed pavement that would be built under Acorn’s plans. Bruton Town Council borrowed an ‘Angel of the Road’ from Bruton Area Street Improvement Initiative (BASII) to ‘stand in’ for a real pedestrian, so that no real pedestrians could be injured during the trial.
The video footage below shows that expert driver Mark George, driving very slowly, cannot avoid driving onto the proposed pavement, thus knocking over the Angel of the Road. The photograph from along Brewham Road in front of the truck shows that Mark cannot avoid having the rear wheels of his trailer on the inside pavement of the corner, at the same time that his front wheels are on the proposed southside pavement.
The Outline Planning Appliction 19/00655/OUT – Land OS 9609 Brewham Road, Bruton for “the development of up to 60 residential dwellings (Use Class C3), together with associated highways and drainage infrastructure, public open space and landscaping.” will be heard at South Somerset District Council (SSDC)’s Area East Committee, next Wednesday morning, 9 October, from 9 am at Churchfield, Wincanton. These highways and pedestrian access are submitted for approval with all other matters (Layout, Scale, Appearance and Landscaping) reserved for later approval.
Bruton Town Council respectfully disagrees with Somerset County Council Highways opinion that “the vehicle swept paths are achievable without impacting the new footway.”
We trust that our Area East District Councillors will reject these potentially deadly proposals on the Planning grounds that they do not comply with National Planning Policy Framework paragraphs 109 (“unacceptable impact on highway safety”) and 110 a)-c).
The Angel of the Road was returned unharmed to BASII, after its terrifying brush with a large truck, while thinking it was safe on a pavement.
Draft Full Council Minutes, 24 September 2019
Agenda Services & Amenities Committee, 9 October 2019
Meeting to oppose the housing development along the Brewham Road
A special meeting is being held on Wednesday October 2nd at 7.30pm at the Bruton Museum
The imminent development of 60 houses on the south side of the Brewham Road has been recommended for approval by the Planning Officer at South Somerset District Council. This decision has been made with scant regard to the significant concerns of local people with regard to road safety, sustainability, our straining infrastructure and the environmental impact: 596 people signed the petition earlier this year and 120 people lodged their opposition on the SSDC planning portal. Bruton Town Council has also lodged its official opposition to this development.
Time is now running out. South Somerset District Council is holding a meeting on October 9th where it will vote on this development. But with enough community support it can still be stopped. Planned developments in both Milborne Port and Crewkerne have recently been thrown out following local opposition, so your voice can genuinely make a difference.
The Town Council and members of the local community will be co-hosting the meeting.
Please come to the Museum at 7.30 on Wednesday October 2nd
You can read the Planning Officer’s report here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bx5ktQlLUqr4TGFuYjNOUzZhRTZtUnNzLXljblh3OG1OLXVJ/view?usp=sharing
