Title 1     |     home                                                    Shaping our Future - Core Strategy Shaping our Future - Core Strategy Preferred Options Consultation Ends on: 18 Jan 2010 DRAFT RESPONSE Submitted by Eastcliff Residents Association on 15 Dec 2009 16:19 The Role and Identity of Thanet's Towns and Villages - Options A1-A4 Options A1-A4: Do you agree with the Preferred Options? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] A1-A4 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] The Level of Housing Growth - Options B1-B3 Options B1-B3: Do you agree with the Preferred Options? Yes [ ] No [ Selected ] B1-B3 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ Option B1 needs to be tweaked to enable TDC to develop a strategy to encourage appropriate redevelopment of existing deteriorated housing stock in the Coastal towns . Redevelopment needs to be given priority over building new housing stock . ] View Response The Development Pattern - Options C1-C3 Options C1-C3: Do you agree with the Preferred Options? Yes [ ] No [ Selected ] C1-C3 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ Options selected need to give priority to redevelopment of existing deteriorated housing stock ] Providing for Economic Prosperity - Options D1-D9 Options D1-D9: Do you agree with the Preferred Options? Yes [ ] No [ Selected ] D1-D9 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ 1) Expansion of Manston has the potential to bring great benefits to Thanet - but will undoubtedly have a blighting effect on Ramsgate. The core strategy plan doesn't recognise that the quality of living of 33 % of Thanet's residents and the values of their homes could be seriously affected by insensitive airport expansion. Obviously ERA does not want to see Ramsgate blighted by airport operations - and we believe development of the airport should only proceed if the quality life in Ramsgate is preserved. The policy on developing the airport needs to explicitly recognise that any development is likely to have a blighting effect on Ramsgate and that the effect on Ramsgate must be taken into account when deciding whether to proceed. 2) The loss suffered by Ramsgate will be significantly more than the drop in current property values The new high speed rail connection, if combined with intelligent strategy set in place by the Ramsgate Town Council, give Ramsgate the potential for substantial regeneration and for large growth in property values. The true cost of insensitive expansion of the airport includes sacrificing that potential. 3) Ramsgate property owners should receive full compensation from TDC or the airport operator for the millions of pounds the town will miss out on if TDC puts the needs of Thanet as a whole ahead of , and to the detriment of , Ramsgate. 4) The plan does not consider what should be done if the airport expansion doesn't actually happen. The plan acknowledges that the Eurokent business park concept has not produced the desired result - but this plan does not consider that, for commercial reasons, the airport might also fail . There is no Plan B. TDC needs to devise a plan B, and incorporate it into the core strategy . ] The Future Role of Westwood - Options E1-E7 Options E1-E7: Do you agree with the Preferred Options? Yes [ ] No [ Selected ] E1-E7 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ 1) Whilst ERA supports the eventual expansion of Westwood, this should not be done if the town centre of Ramsgate, or the town centres of the other Coastal towns, suffer. We want Ramsgate town centre to develop alongside West wood and do not desire further shop closures and movement of town centre outlets to Westwood Cross. To enable the Coastal towns to recover we recommend a 10 year moratorium on further expansion of Westwood. 2) Allowing office based businesses into Westwood is a serious error of judgement. This will suck those businesses out of the coastal towns, in turn leading to further decay in those towns. Allowing the cinemas and casinos in Westwood has had a serious effect on the entertainment business in the coastal towns, and allowing professional services to relocate to Westwood will, in the same way, suck the office based businesses out of those towns. 3) Allowing significant amounts of new housing at Westwood is likely to reduce the chances of existing housing stock in Margate and Ramsgate being refurbished. There are many fine buildings in both towns that would make wonderful family homes, and converting them back to such homes would provide a major impetus to the regeneration of those towns, and would also be desirable activity from an environmental point of view. We recommend a block on residential development at Westwood for at least 10 years to allow the regeneration of the housing stock in the costal towns. ] The Coastal Town Centres - Options F1-F4 Options F1-F4: Do you agree with the Preferred Options? Yes [ ] No [ Selected ] F1-F4 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ Ramsgate needs to developed aswell. The phraseology should be changed to: The future of Margate and Ramsgate could be shaped through......... ] Policy DCS1 Do you agree with Policy DCS1? Yes [ ] No [ Selected ] DCS1 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ Manston Airport : As noted in our answers to the policies in D1 to D9 1. The policy on developing the airport needs to explicitly recognise that any development is likely to have a blighting effect on Ramsgate and that the effect on Ramsgate must be taken into account when deciding whether to proceed. 2. The policy should recognise that the loss suffered by Ramsgate will be significantly more than the drop in current property values. 3. The policy should require that Ramsgate property owners receive full compensation from TDC or the airport operator for the millions of pounds the town will miss out on if TDC puts the needs of Thanet as a whole ahead of, and to the detriment of, Ramsgate. The compensation paid must cover the drop in current property values, and also the loss from being unable to regenerate the town to its full potential. In addition: 4) The policy on the airport should explicitly require independently monitored measures to be put in place to manage safety issues ,surface transport and environmental impact. Westwood: To Para 4 of the proposed policy add: " as a sustainable residential and business community , but that such allocation will only proceed once the three coastal town centres have had a number of years to recover from their present degeneration ." Revitalisation of Ramsgate and Broadstairs. While Margate has slid back more than the other towns, the needs of Ramsgate and Broadstairs cannot be overlooked. Therefore policy should be amended as below: To Para 5 add: "….physical revitalisation of Margate and Cliftonville West, together with the protection and regeneration of the coastal towns of Ramsgate and Broadstairs." ] ] Policy DCS2 Do you agree with Policy DCS2? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] DCS2 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] Policy DCS3 Do you agree with Policy DCS3? Yes [ ] No [ Selected ] DCS3 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ As noted in our answers to the policies in D1 to D9: 1) Manston Airport should only be developed in ways that do not blight Ramsgate - or if development is to proceed despite the quality of life in Ramsgate being affected , and/or Ramsgate's potential to develop being reduced , full compensation must be paid to those affected. Policy DCS3 should reflect this . 2) This policy should address what should happen to land which has been allocated for airport use if the airport fails to expand as envisaged ( ie provide a Plan B) ] Policy DCS4 Do you agree with Policy DCS4? Yes [ ] No [ Selected ] DCS4 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] Policy DCS5 Do you agree with Policy DCS5? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] DCS5 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] Policy DCS6 Do you agree with Policy DCS6? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] DCS6 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] Policy DCS7 Do you agree with Policy DCS7? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] DCS7 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] Policy DCS8 Do you agree with Policy DCS8? Yes [ ] No [ Selected ] DCS8 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ As noted in our answers to the policies in D1 to D9 1)Whilst ERA supports the eventual expansion of Westwood, this should not be done if the town centre of Ramsgate, or the town centres of the other Coastal towns, suffer. We want Ramsgate town centre to develop alongside West wood and do not desire further shop closures and movement of town centre outlets to Westwood Cross. To enable the Coastal towns to recover we recommend a 10 year moratorium on further expansion of Westwood. 2) Allowing office based businesses into Westwood is a serious error of judgement. This will suck those businesses out of the coastal towns, in turn leading to further decay in those towns. Allowing the cinemas and casinos in Westwood has had a serious effect on the entertainment business in the coastal towns, and allowing professional services to relocate to Westwood will, in the same way, suck the office based businesses out of those towns. ] Policy DCS9 Do you agree with Policy DCS9? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] DCS9 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] Policy DCS10 Do you agree with Policy DCS10? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] DCS10 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] Policy DCS11 Do you agree with Policy DCS11? Yes [ ] No [ Selected ] DCS11 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ As noted in our answers to the policies in D1 to D9 Allowing significant amounts of new housing at Westwood or other greenfield sites in Thanet is likely to reduce the chances of existing housing stock in Margate and Ramsgate being refurbished. There are many fine buildings in both towns that would make wonderful family homes, and converting them back to such homes would provide a major impetus to the regeneration of those towns, and would also be desirable activity from an environmental point of view. We recommend a block on residential development at Westwood and other greenfield sites for at least 10 years to allow the regeneration of the housing stock in the costal towns. ] Policy DCS12 Do you agree with Policy DCS12? Yes [ ] No [ Selected ] DCS12 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ See notes in section DCS11 ] Policy DCS13 Do you agree with Policy DCS13? Yes [ ] No [ Selected ] DCS13 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ We are opposed to the relocation of Thanet Tech Collection because of the detrimental effect to Broadstairs. ] Policy DCS14 Do you agree with Policy DCS14? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] DCS14 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] Policy DCS15 Do you agree with Policy DCS15? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] DCS15 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] Policy DCS16 Do you agree with Policy DCS16? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] DCS16 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] Policy DCS17 Do you agree with Policy DCS17? Yes [ ] No [ Selected ] DCS17 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ 1. We feel Land west of the Harbour is not suitable for residential development. 2. Agreed 3. Agreed ] Policy DCS18 Do you agree with Policy DCS18? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] DCS18 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] Policy DCS19 Do you agree with Policy DCS19? Yes [ ] No [ Selected ] DCS19 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ Existing conservation areas should be safeguarded. ] Policy DCS20 Do you agree with Policy DCS20? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] DCS20 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] Policy DCS21 Do you agree with Policy DCS21? Yes [ ] No [ Selected ] DCS21 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ What are the aims of the policy? ] Policy DCS22 Do you agree with Policy DCS22? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] DCS22 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] Policy DCS23 Do you agree with Policy DCS23? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] DCS23 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] Policy DCS24 Do you agree with Policy DCS24? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] DCS24 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] Policy DCS25 Do you agree with Policy DCS25? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] DCS25 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] Policy DCS26 Do you agree with Policy DCS26? Yes [ ] No [ Selected ] DCS26 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ There are numerous run down and empty homes in Ramsgate. Developers should be encouraged to renovate and refurbish these. New build homes should be secondary to this. ] Policy DCS27 Do you agree with Policy DCS27? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] DCS27 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] Policy DCS28 Do you agree with Policy DCS28? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] DCS28 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] Policy DCS29 Do you agree with Policy DCS29? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] DCS29 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] Policy DCS30 Do you agree with Policy DCS30? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] DCS30 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] Policy DCS31 Do you agree with Policy DCS31? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] DCS31 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] Policy DCS32 Do you agree with Policy DCS32? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] DCS32 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] Policy DCS33 Do you agree with Policy DCS33? Yes [ Selected ] No [ ] DCS33 Answers If you disagree, what alternatives are you proposing? [ ] CS1 Do you think the Core Strategy is founded on a robust and credible evidence base? Yes [ ] No [ Selected ] CS2 Do you think the Core Strategy is the most appropriate strategy when considered against the reasonable alternatives? Yes [ ] No [ Selected ] CS3 Do you think the Core Strategy is deliverable? Yes [ ] No [ Selected ] CS4 Do you think the Core Strategy is flexible? Yes [ ] No [ Selected ] CS5 Do you think the Core Strategy is able to be monitored? Yes [ ] No [ Selected ] CS6 Do you think the Core Strategy is consistent with national policy? Yes [ ] No [ Selected ] CS7 If you answered 'no' to any of the previous questions, please tell us why. [ We are not in a position to give a yes/no answer to these questions therefore we have said no to all of them. It is quite possible that some of the above are a 'yes' answer but, as there are areas within the Core Startegy with which we disagree, we have to say no to them all. ] CS8 Do you think there are any other matters which the Core Strategy should contain? [ ]