Topic: LEIGH PARK - Ask all your questions here about Leigh Park, Westbury.

[baldy]

I've been meaning to start this thread off since this forum started. I saw a thread about Leigh Park in the other forum where good questions are being asked and this reminded me to get on with this one now.
 
I am often (not always) the best-placed person to answer many relevant questions about certain issues, especially related to planning, development control, amenities and facilities, maintenance etc. because I have been involved in many of the issues myself already, or actually brought about some of the development proposals that remain.
 
I was the first person to move into Leigh Park (March 1999) and I have been the local district councillor since May 2003.
 
I was chairman of Leigh Park Community Association (LPCA) during 2002 - 2006, which was the period when almost all relevant KEY issues were settled.
 
Please feel free to ask any relevant questions. I'll do my best to answer.
     
Russell Hawker         
  Here is a roundup of points to start this off:
 
* The land immediately east of the car park of Leigh Park Local Centre is allocated as two separate development sites (with existing planning consent):
 
a)  About half, nearest the main road (A3098), Leigh Park Way, is the designated Leigh Park Doctor's Surgery site.
 
b) The rear part is for another 40 or so car spaces to be built at the same time as the community centre (which will have another 10 or so immediately by it), when that eventually gets built (a complex issue all on its own which I can explain later if someone is interested).
 
* The mini recycling centre in Leigh Park Local Centre is maintained by the County Council, though the district council will deal with fly-tipping (and the officers already watch and check to see who does this).

 
*  Almost all street lights in Leigh Park are still maintained by Persimmon. A phone call to Persimmon should resolve whether any particular street light is actually one of theirs or now dealt with by the County Council (eg. on adopted footpaths).
 
* No roads have yet been adopted by the County Council.
 
* The county councillor for the area north of Leigh Park Way is Christopher Newbury.
 
http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/councillors-general-information/councillor-by-division/div-westburyham-dilton.htm
 
* The county councillor for the area south of Leigh Park Way (A3098) is Fleur de Rhe Philipe
 
http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/councillors-general-information/councillor-by-division/div-westbury-laverton-shearwater.htm
 
* One of the cedar trees was felled because it was diseased and structurally unsafe. It also lost its last remaining main branch last year in a storm with very strong wind and this made what was left look very unhealthy and odd. The decision was taken by the district council's specialist tree officer (an Arborologist).[/hr]

[pat]

why is Leigh park such a tip?

[baldy]

why is Leigh park such a tip?

It is the largest ongoing development in Westbury by far and it's being ongoing on since 1998. So, there is an awful lot that could be discussed.
 
What specific part and feature do you mean?

[pat]

overgrown trees brambles etc on paths,which i cycle around..
recycling area a mess..
building site a mess,how long will it stay like it..

[baldy]

overgrown trees brambles etc on paths,which i cycle around..
recycling area a mess..
building site a mess,how long will it stay like it..

Vegetation overgrowing public footpaths is a County Council issue. If not, they will identify that Persimmon should deal. It depends on exactly where you mean as different paths are owned by different parties at present.
 
Vegetation from private gardens overhanging pavements should be dealt with by the owner. The County Council should enforce this if there is a highways issue (especially a safety issue).
 
Some of the hedges are protected and owned by Persimmon until they are transferred to the County or District Counil (ie. the Unitary Authority from April next year).
 
The mini recycling area is temporary and under the control of the County Council. Persimmon have to build a permanent fenced recycling area as part of the second half of the Local Centre car park when the community centre gets built (which may be a year or more away at the moment).
 
The mini recycling centre is emptied by Hills Waste every few days. They will deal with all rubbish and fly-tipping at the same time. The officers have their own ways of tracking down offenders who fly-tip and I can't say what those details are here (sorry).
 
Building sites are owned and under the control of Persimmon. It is private land and there is nothing the council can do about the way it looks unless an aspect of it is unsafe and threatens public safety. Clearly, the temporary building recession has caused Persimmon to abandon some of their building sites until things pick up.

[Bob DeBilda]

Building sites are owned and under the control of Persimmon. It is private land and there is nothing the council can do about the way it looks unless an aspect of it is unsafe and threatens public safety. Clearly, the temporary building recession has caused Persimmon to abandon some of their building sites until things pick up.

Russell, is there not a time scale in which all building work on Leigh park should be completed? I would have thought this would have been a stipulation when permission to develop the area was granted.

It seems very unfair to the people that have bought (and paid a lot of money for) houses and now have to live next to an abandoned (and who knows for how long) building site.

As far as i recall, the area around the cedar tree(s) was originally designated 3-4 bed houses but now will be a mix of houses and flats. Does persimmon have the right to change what they will build or do they have to go back to the council for approval?

[baldy]

Bob
 
There has only been one planning permission issued for the Cedar Tree Field which sets out the mix of homes. However, there was an earlier planning application which failed in the High Court under judicial review as an invalid planning application. That earlier set of plans did have a slightly different mix of proposed homes.
 
Planning permissions are granted with a strict timetable for starting the construction works, otherwise the permission lapses. It is a matter of well established Law that undertaking the groundworks, which is what Persimmon's contractor has done in the "Cedar Tree Field", counts as commencement of development. So, they have started works and have as long as they need to complete the works. There is no time stipulation on when to finish.
 
The development must be completed in accordance with the approved drawings - so this means the buildings cannot be changed without first obtaining approval to new drawings. I would not expect Persimmon to change any building drawings at this late stage, not least because the groundworks are substantially complete already.
 
The planning permission for the Cedar Tree field also included the two blocks of affordable apartments being built by the shops and the sites for the doctors surgery and nursery plus the site and BUILDING for the community centre. 
 
The planning permission included a S.106 Planning Agreement (a legally binding contract between the developer and district and county councils) which requires Persimmon to lay certain amenities and facilities and build the community centre. Parts of this have a series of notice periods triggered by certain events.
 
Ultimately, it is up to Persimmon to proceed at their own speed.  We all know what is holding Persimmon back at the moment and it is perfectly understandable.
 
In my experience, Persimmon are a very responsible and professional (but very commercial) organisation to deal with.  They fulfill their legal obligations but they will find clever legal opportunities to reduce costs where they can .... just like any other major professional and commercial organisation.

[baldy]

The traffic lights on the pelican crossing by Leigh Park Local Centre failed to work properly earlier this year.  Basically, only the red lights worked for a few days.
 
After ringing around to discover who had responsibility for maintaining the lights, it turned out that it was not the County Council nor Persimmon.
 
In fact, the crossing was built as part of the planning conditions for the shops and the maintenance of the lights was still the responsibility of the shops developer (or a sister company which the original developers acts as agent for anyway).
 
The county council has now agreed (via its senior highways development control engineer - Phil Tilley) to adopt the lights prior to adoption of the road itself. I have not yet received confirmation that this process has been concluded.
 
So, if there is any future problems with the traffic lights on the safety crossing by the shops, please contact Marshgate, the developers of the shops, first.  Any of the shop businesses should have the telephone number for their landlord's agent (ie. Marshgate).
 
Please also let me know.
 
If Marshgate deny responsibility, then it may have all passed to the County Council, in which case a call to Clarence is needed.

[Sector9]

Baldy, will Tesco pay for a bin between Leigh Park Local Centre and Dilton cos the chavs keep throwing their rubbish on the floor.

[Bob DeBilda]

 
The planning permission for the Cedar Tree field also included the two blocks of affordable apartments being built by the shops and the sites for the doctors surgery and nursery plus the site and BUILDING for the community centre. 
 

I didn't realise that the area behind the shops was part of the cedar tree field. thanks for clearing that up.

 
The planning permission included a S.106 Planning Agreement (a legally binding contract between the developer and district and county councils) which requires Persimmon to lay certain amenities and facilities and build the community centre. Parts of this have a series of notice periods triggered by certain events.
 

What certain events will trigger the building of the community centre?

[baldy]

I didn't realise that the area behind the shops was part of the cedar tree field. thanks for clearing that up.

I did not say that.  The same planning application and permission dealt with the Cedar Tree Field AND the unfinished part of Leigh Park Local Centre PLUS the associated affordable homes which are going behind the day nursery site in Palomino Place.

What certain events will trigger the building of the community centre?

The planning authority (currently the district council) has to serve a notice on the developer to commence construction. Persimmon then have a few months to start.
 
The key issue will be getting the district council (or - if later - the new unitary authority) to issue the notice because this will not be issued until a suitable charitable trust presents itself with an approved business plan for owning and running the building first.
 
I set up Leigh Park Community Association (Westbury) as a charitable trust to achieve this.  It is worth remembering that the latest planning permission was not granted until December last year. This new planning permission involved a new S.106 Agreement which cancels the previous one relating to the community centre, nursery site and doctors surgery site and established new conditions for Persimmon to comply with, including a totally new design for the community centre.
 
The LPCA committee is supposed to be working on the production of the business plan. Unfortunately this is a very complex exercise and, without me, they are finding it hard to understand and progress the project.  It is complicated because a chapel has to be built at one end of the hall at the cost of LPCA.
 
I designed the project to include the nursery on the basis that the nursery would pay for the necessary costs that need to be spent on the hall.

[baldy]

Baldy, will Tesco pay for a bin between Leigh Park Local Centre and Dilton cos the chavs keep throwing their rubbish on the floor.

Tesco have no duty to install bins beyond immediately outside their own unit, so I do not know what they would say about installing something that the district council should do.  If the district council accepts the installation of an approved bin, it then has to also empty it.  But this is currently the responsibility of Persimmon in roads which have not yet been adopted (except where the district council has agreed to empty them anyway).
 
I could raise this with the council myself, but as the budget for bins is already used up this year and as its the last year for the district council, the only realistic way forward is to ask the new unitary authority when it is established.

[Bob DeBilda]

Baldy, will Tesco pay for a bin between Leigh Park Local Centre and Dilton cos the chavs keep throwing their rubbish on the floor.

Do you think they would use a bin if there was one.
They probably wouldn't recognise it anyway.

[Slow Joe]

Persimmon's landscaping contractors have not been seen for some time. About 6 weeks since grass was cut or bins emptied here (I am not on Leigh Park but unfortunately (for me!) on yet another estate that has not been adopted by the council because Persimmon refuse to action the pre-adoption "snagging" that is required to landscaping. And I would rather not be specific re location).

With the current state of the economy, I suppose Persimmon have cut back on the need to use landscaping contractors. Save them a bit of money and there never seems to be any comeback for them - no one seems bothered if they leave these areas in a poorly maintained and often dangerous state. The council tell me "sorry thats not adopted so not our problem" and Persimmon say they will call me back and never do. Emails go answered too. They really are a law unto themselves and don't seem to give a damn.

Oh dear, sorry - that turned into a bit of a rant!!!

[Debs]

The council tell me "sorry thats not adopted so not our problem" and Persimmon say they will call me back and never do. Emails go answered too. They really are a law unto themselves and don't seem to give a damn.

that sounds familiar.... we had same senario when we lived in gibbs close off alfred street...  it was unadopted when we were living here and terrible when anything went wrong    everyone's "get out clause" i suppose...pass the buck on so to speak