Link to Sentinel article;  http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/families-win-fight-save-citys-922966

The public Meeting on 11th December is CANCELLED, due to Trentham High School being closed.   The car park and surrounding roads are deemed un-safe!

Please pass the message on to anyone you know who was planning to attending.

However, it is still VERY important that you attend the hearing at the Civic Offices on Wednesday 13th December at 12.30pm.  Your presence as residents will make a huge difference.

The coach is leaving the Trentham Hotel on Wednesday morning at 11am. Tickets can be bought on the day at the coach.

With the date of the Planning Committee hearing now set for December 13th,  Council  Officers will publish their official report on the application shortly before the hearing.

We are holding a public meeting at Trentham High School on Monday 11th December at 7:30pm to brief residents on the report and what it means, and for residents to ask questions of our local councillors.

Monday 11th December at 7:30pm

Trentham High School

The Mott MacDonald assessment is available on the Council’s website and makes interesting reading.   In summary, Mott MacDonald have confirmed what we already knew; that Barratt Homes and their co-conspiritors are trying to bend the rules and on a number of points are blatantly trying to cheat to get their redicuolous planning application through.

So this is now two independent assessments confirming that Barratt’s documents can’t be trusted.

Somewhat curiously, these reports do not point out that Barratt have so far failed to explain how they plan to tackle the only factor that makes any substantive difference to the traffic at the end of Meadow lane.  That being the traffic flow on Longton Road, and as the junction can not be signalised, it’s simply can’t be done.  This is a fact that Barratt are hoping to brush under the carpet.

However, on behalf of residents, we have consulted again with experts at PTB Transport Planning to highlight (again) the usual flaws and ahem…. anomalies !  in Barratt’s application, including the curiously missing plan to control traffic flow on Longton Road.

So, we expect the Planning Committee to throw out this ridiculous application, but to make sure our Councillors are fully supported to take the decision to throw this out, we really do need your support at the hearing.   Barratt Homes, through their own actions have proven that they can not be trusted, so we need as much support at the hearing as we can possibly muster.  The more residents turn up to the meeting the higher the probability that the application will be refused.

We all look forward to see everyone at the meeting on the 13th December at 12:30.

The date of the Planning Committee hearing for the application has been pushed back further and is yet to be determined.

You may have noticed a new document on the council site from a desperate Barratt Homes.  They’re up to their old sly tricks again.  Whilst there are one or two points which might be a matter of opinion that we actually believe, the document we are confident to say, is intended to mis-lead  and the important aspects are factually incorrect ( proven with their own data ) !  Roll-on the Committee hearing!

After an excruciatingly long wait, the date is set.   Final documents are in, and we are delighted to say that the Local Highway Authority agree with our assessment;

“it is recommended that the application is refused on highway safety grounds”

There have been many issues and underhand and dubious acts executed by Barratt Homes and their co-conspiritors in the process of this planning application.  With hard work, residents have seen through them, and have given them a run for their money!

However now is the time we need everyone’s support to ensure that this application is refused once and for all.  The hearing is due to take place at;

10:00 Wednesday 16th August

It is so contentious and Barratt Homes, so devious, that we ask everyone that might be affected by the development, to come down to the Council Offices on the day to show Councillors that there is overwhelming support to REFUSE this application.

We’ll be there, fighting on behalf of residents, so please, please, please spread the word, show your support and make time to attend the Planning Committee hearing on the 16th August.  We’ll post more details  as soon as we can.

In the mean time, to see Barratt Homes’ “misrepresentation”, “fake news” and “alternative facts” laid bare, at least on Highways matters, checkout the council planning site and take a peak at the superb and factually correct Highways Comments document posted on 31st May.

I have to admit to being surprised yet again by Barratt Homes.  When we thought that Barratt Homes had stooped to the lowest levels of untrustworthiness and lies*, and had demonstrated an absolute lack of integrity, they’ve somehow managed to grind themselves even lower.

You may recall from previous blogs about Barratt and their co-conspiritors, they have tried filming the Meadow Lane junction previously and have ignored the ICO CCTV code of practice and Data Protection Act.

Probably, because they got caught last time, they thought they’d have another go, but this time they have broken every rule in the book!

To film traffic, which captures images of not only vehicles, but also adults and children walking on Meadow lane and Longton Road, they are supposed to place the  cameras where they can been seen and to place LARGE notices around the area warning people of what they are doing, including their company details so that people can ask for their personal information to be excluded, given that this is an invasion of privacy.  This is particularly important to residents at the moment due to a spate of burglaries in the area, to re-assure that filming is legal and is not being done by criminals surveying activity to plan their next break-in.

So… on the morning of Friday 17th Feb, a strange car was spotted next to the petrol station      sporting a hidden camera!   When approached by an eagle-eyed resident, the driver was less than helpful and claimed to not know who she was working for and had made every attempt to conceal her filming operations rather than to follow the law and ICO’s guidance.   Sounds more like the behaviour of criminals than a (tongue in cheek) “reputable” house building company!   The driver had actually tried to conceal the camera under coats placed on the dashboard of the car.

The driver did not want her photograph taken, citing this as an invasion of her privacy!  I ask you, honestly… and she could not see the problem in covertly filming residents!

So here are a couple of images of what she was up to for you to form your own opinion ( identifiable images removed of course ).

Committee Hearing

So more bad behaviour from Barratt Homes is sadly only to be expected as the time is fast approaching for the Planning Committee hearing or expiry of their application.

Although Barratts are still wriggling around trying to conjure up more fantasy road layouts, and ‘alternative facts’, the actual facts are set to get their ill-founded plans rejected.

The vast majority of Barratt’s Transport proposals are based on mis-represented data and mis-representation of planning and transport guidance, so we are confident that Council Transport Planning Officers have multiple grounds based on the actual facts to refuse the application.

*(a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood.).  This being evidenced in their own documents!

Back by popular demand,

look out for Santa on the green

at Chessington Crescent

SUNDAY 18^TH DECEMBER 2016

11 am  –   1 pm

* Meet Santa *

* Gift for every child and a bag of ‘Magic Meadow’ reindeer food *

* Photo opportunity with Santa (bring your own camera)*

* Minimum donation of £3 per child *

There is also a raffle and fantastic prizes

Everyone’s welcome and we look forward to seeing you there….  and….. don’t forget……all funds raised support the on-going fight against Barratt Homes, with anything left going straight to Donna Louise.