Now the summer holidays have finished it is time for me to update you on the affairs of the Society. I will cover the following;
Talks programme
Launch of website
CDC Draft Local Plan
Car Parking
TALKS PROGRAMME
We have arranged the following talks which will take place in the Upper Town Hall at 7.30 pm for 8 o’clock.
Thursday 23rd November – Chipping Campden: A Historic Built Heritage to Cherish
In this illustrated talk David Atkinson will take a fresh look at the character of the splendid built environment within the Conservation Area of the town that is densely packed with old buildings of architectural and historic interest. He will outline how it has come to survive so well, what is distinctive about it all and why it should be treasured and safeguarded.
Thursday 22 February 2018 – Life on the Rails
John Ellis will talk about his life in the rail industry and his current involvement with the Cotswold line, the campaign to reopen the line from Stratford to Honeybourne and whether there is hope for reopening a Campden station.
Thursday 22 March 2018 – to be confirmed
WEBSITE –
The Campden Society’s website will be launched in early October 2017 and we are very grateful to Rebecca Denyer from Red Lemon Creative Design Agency for help in building the site and also for David Atkinson for allowing us to use articles that he has written, including the preparation of a photograph record, over the last 20 years.
We hope that the look and feel of our new website will be attractive and easy to use and help us to share information about The Society and our aims and also encourage new membership and help build awareness.
Please visit the website from time to time as we keep it updated with information and matters of interest. Please feel free to send any ideas for improving the site or better still content for the site by contacting
Chipping Campden is acknowledged by members and visitors alike to be a unique town and we must make every effort to see that its special features are retained for future generations
Facebook users will see that the Society now has a Facebook page which will be actively maintained with items of interest to all and will help drive traffic to the new website. Please do like our page and get involved in sharing the word.
CDC DRAFT LOCAL PLAN EXAMINATION
This long process is coming to a close. The Inspector will consider evidence during October 2017 in a number of focussed sessions. As Chairman I will represent The Society at the following;
- Matter 1 Duty to cooperate and other procedural matter
- Matter 8 Allocations (of housing) and Infrastructure Requirements in the North Cotswold Sub Area
The Inspector asked a number of questions and I have responded in writing. My responses cover a lot of planning detail but our concerns can be summed up by the following extract from my input;
The Society view is that Campden has developed organically over the years in its environmental setting of a natural bowl in the surrounding hills within the AONB and this should continue.
In their Plan CDC state that “New land allocations in Campden need to be sensitive to the environmental constraints and the need to ensure that the town’s historic character is maintained”.
To place a large estate type development on one of the high level entrances to the town runs counter to this policy and our history. There is no immediate need for more housing and a better solution would be to allow the Town to meet its housing needs by a number of smaller developments.
CDC are making a strong argument in that as the land at Aston Road is owned by Gloucestershire County Council, it is available and in planning terms sustainable. The challenge for The Society and the Town Council is to persuade the Inspector that CDC should observe their own statement above on sensitivity to the environment in their housing allocations and to adopt the housing policy set out in the Campden Draft Neighbourhood Plan.
CAR PARKING
There is no progress to report. Funding is still not available from any source. We have been exploring ideas such as having a surgery on the site but to no avail.
Tony Rose
The Campden Society, The Old Police Station, High Street, Chipping Campden, GL55 6HB