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We are run by a committee of volunteers and a team of helpers who give their time free of charge in an effort to protect the environment that we all enjoy whilst living in this beautiful area
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Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
This right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
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If you can't see our logo above and at the end of the newsletter, make sure you have clicked the link to download pictures
Contents
AGM 30th March
Jubilee Coffee Morning
Christchurch Carnival
Planning and Development
Christchurch specific Planning Committee
Eco Incinerator
BCP Local Plan
Tree Planting in the Ward
BCP Future Places
Council Tax
Updates from the Airport
Christmas Lights!
Your local councillors
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If you want to read the newsletter as a Printable document, click here
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Dates for your diary -
Our AGM will be held on the 30th March in the Hall on the Hill, Marlow Drive BH23 2RR at 7pm
David Sidwick, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset and the following councillors will be present for a question and answer session
Margaret Phipps - Ward councillor for Christchurch in BCP
Vanessa Ricketts - Ward councillor for Christchurch in BCP
Sue Bungey - CTC and Mayor of Christchurch
Sue Fotheringham - CTC
Carol Gardiner - CTC
Viv Charrett - CTC
Sue Spittle - CTC
COMMITTEE MEMBERS NEEDED
If you or someone you know (with their permission) would like to become a Committee member please complete a nomination form and email it to enquiries@wcresidents.co.uk or by post to Jumpers and St Catherine's Hill Residents Association at 83 Hillside Drive, Christchurch, BH23 2SZ.
We are in need of a Treasurer, Membership Secretary and future Chairperson. We would also welcome any general committee members who would like to become involved in the association.
A Coffee Morning has been organised by JSCHRA to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee will be held in the Hall on the Hill, Marlow Drive on Saturday 4th June between 10am and 12pm. More details to follow.
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The Carnival will return, bigger and better, we hope, this year after the last two years of Covid difficulties. In 2020 we could not hold it at all, and in 2021, given permission at the last minute, managed to run the main events, but not the Parade, due to Social Distancing issues.
So, this year the dates are 13/14th August. The main events will be much as usual, lots of stalls, food and drink, events, live music, funfair, the ever-popular dog show, and fireworks on the Quay on Saturday night. However, this year we want to reinstate the Parade through the town centre on Sunday afternoon, as people missed it last year with many comments on Facebook about this.
In previous years we have had some difficulty in getting enough people to join in the Parade. We have some good ideas for this year, but no commitments yet. We are looking for ideas from groups, individuals, sports clubs or any group which will make the parade exciting, colourful and fun!
We are also always looking for volunteers to help with the organisation as the Parade does require more on-the-ground help.
And finally, as if I haven’t asked for enough, we really need some more sponsorship from local businesses. I completely realise how bad the last couple of years have been in trading terms for many businesses but hope there might be some who have weathered the Covid storm rather better than others and would love to be involved in helping the Carnival, and we can promise some good PR in exchange as well!
If anyone would like to discuss any of these possibilities more, you can get me on viv@charrett.com.
Thanks a lot! Viv Charrett (Carnival Chair)
Christchurch U3A will have a stall at the Carnival where you will be able to find out more about their programme of educational and leisure activities for those no longer in full time employment. There will be a follow-up welcoming coffee and tea session at Druitt Hall on Wednesday 17th from 10am to 12pm and you will be able to get further information and join the U3A.
The main aim of the University of the Third Age is to advance the education of retired & semi-retired people and assist them in pursuing their interests within a social environment.
Our Group Leaders get free membership (half if joint) and we are always looking for new leaders, maybe you would like to take a Tango class??
Website
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Planning and Development
Application for Flats and Houses on Corner of The Grove
A new application has now been submitted for a block of 35 flats and 4 dwellinghouses - Application number 8/21/1214/OUT - after the application for 55 flats and 4 dwellinghouses was refused in December 2021
This original application by Richard Carr came before the BCP Planning Committee recently. There were 275 objections and it was recommended by Officers for refusal. It was refused – but only just – by 8 votes to 6. Six Bournemouth and Poole Members including the Committee Chairman, voted to grant the application. BCP Cllr. Margaret Phipps challenged the Chairman of Planning with a question at Full Council, as to why nearly half of the Committee Members had gone against the officer recommendation to refuse the application because they “liked” the development, when it was contrary to so many policies. He replied that policies were open to interpretation. Cllr. Phipps said she thought that what had happened did not give the public confidence in the Committee. The full question and answer are noted in the Minutes of January’s BCP Council meeting.
Refusal notice and Minutes of planning meeting
Hurn Way care home
An appeal has been lodged against the refusal of planning permission in June 2021.
Refusal Notice
The appeal reference is APP/V1260/W/21/3280644
Appeals can be viewed on the Appeals Casework Portal
Those who objected against the proposal will have received notification of the planning appeal and your initial objections will be passed onto the inspector who will be assessing the appeal. The comments date passed on the 15th February the decision date has yet to be announced.
PLANS for a 69-bedroom care home in Christchurch were turned down after the director of adult social care for BCP Council objected to it along with more than 200 residents.
Christchurch Town Council had also objected to the proposed scheme due to its “scale, bulk, mass and height, which renders the development inappropriate in design and character”.
Another opponent was Natural England, which claimed the development, with its proximity to the SSSI at St Catherine’s Hill, would have an “adverse” affect on the area. The Jumpers and St Catherine’s Hill Residents Association agreed.
Creation of a planning committee specific to Christchurch
RESIDENTS in Christchurch have launched a petition calling for the borough to have its own planning committee.
The move comes amid frustration with current single committee system introduced when BCP Council was established three years ago.
Petition organisers say they want a planning committee made up of only Christchurch councillors who can make ‘informed decisions’ on local applications.
They say the growing perception is that decisions are being made by councillors from Bournemouth and Poole who 'are not conversant with the area or local planning policies.’
Only three of the 15 planning committee members are from Christchurch and can always be outvoted.
Read the full Echo article
Comment from your BCP Ward Cllrs
We are both increasingly receiving e mails of complaint or dismay about how the BCP planning committee is functioning. The Incinerator is one example. Also, you may be aware that Margaret recently challenged the Committee Chairman at Full Council about the way the application for a large block of flats and four houses on the corner of The Grove was conducted at committee. It is not just in West Christchurch that there is discontent, and a resident from Highcliffe has organized a petition on the BCP website seeking a debate at Council for a separate planning committee for Christchurch.
It can be found here. https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?ID=162&RPID=3286444&HPID=3286444
Hard copies of the petition form are also available, please contact us if you want to help gather signatures. The aim is 2000 signatures, to enable the matter to be discussed at Full Council.
Cllr. Margaret Phipps – margaret.phipps@bcpcouncil.gov.uk - Tel: 01202 478266
Cllr. Vanessa Ricketts – vanessa.ricketts@bcpcouncil.gov.uk – Tel: 07760 391467
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NEWS from your BCP Ward Cllrs. Margaret Phipps and Vanessa Ricketts
Eco Incinerator at Hurn given Planning Permission
Despite 719 objections, which we think could be a record for an application to this Council, a waste incinerator at Hurn was granted approval by the BCP planning committee on 8th March. Vanessa spoke at Committee on behalf of us both and Hurn Parish Council in objection, but to no avail. Nine Councillors, all from Bournemouth and Poole voted to approve, whilst four, including two from Christchurch voted for refusal. To us and very many watching the meeting there appeared to be much enthusiasm to grant coming from the Chairman. Ultimately it was proposed for grant by the Chairman (East Cliff Ward) and seconded by the Vice Chairman (Alderney Ward) with 7 other Bournemouth and Poole Cllrs. following suit. Because this development is in the Green Belt the Secretary of State (SoS) will have to give final approval. A coalition of local environmentalists intend to challenge the consent, and have advised the SoS that they will be writing to him. As well as the Green Belt objections, they consider this type of wase disposal to be outdated and harmful to the environment by releasing nanoparticles into the air which cannot be removed by filters. As far as we are concerned this is just another example of Cllrs. from the other two towns not listening to the views of Christchurch residents.
The BCP Local Plan Issues and Options Consultation
We were delighted to see so many residents who came to our Drop-In at the Hall on the Hill, Marlow Drive on 2nd March, to see hard copies of the consultation documents and have a chat about them. The deadline for responses has been extended to 25th March, so if you can respond online please do, or if anyone wants hard copies contact us, we have some left, or they are available at Christchurch Library.
Tree Planting in the Ward
Since 2020 we have been trying to get trees planted where there are vacant verge spaces in several roads across the Ward. Nothing was done in 2020 due to Covid, so for Winter 2021 we were very keen to make sure we got our trees. Via liaison with tree officers in Christchurch our list of locations and tree order was placed in summer 2021, for planting winter 2021/22. We have been chasing this up continually and are told that the order did arrive, but still many of the trees have not yet been planted. We are informed that they will be planted soon and will have slow-release water sacks attached to them. Please – if you see a new tree planted near your home, can you keep an eye on it and perhaps water it from time to time. We will be very pleased to get our trees, but do wish they could have been planted late autumn last year rather than at the start of this spring.
BCP Future Places
The Council has set up a company called Future Places. This is the link to their website:
https://www.bcpfutureplaces.co.uk/
It is a Council owned company with six Directors. Four have been employed whilst the other two are the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council. The governance of the company was discussed at Audit and Governance Committee on 10th March, (of which Margaret is a member and was present), where many pertinent questions were asked of some of the Future Places team. You can view the recording on the BCP website by bringing up the U Tube of that Committee at: https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=287&MId=5292&Ver=4
The presentations take up just over the first hour, and Cllrs. questions follow.
Without going into too much detail their initial delivery plan is quoted in their literature as covering 3 areas of work - “an initial portfolio of sites to support the regenerative development within the BCP conurbation; a series of thematic workstreams which will enable better placemaking across the area; and contribution to the formulation of key strategies to support placemaking and regeneration across the region”.
These are a lot of words which could mean anything, but their commissioning plan does give more detail. However, initially they are tasked with delivering 14 large projects within BCP, and the list includes the former Christchurch Civic Offices and car parks. Many questions are still being asked by many about this newly formed Company.
Council Tax
At February Full Council the budget was agreed by majority vote of the administration. This budget also sets the Council Tax for 2022/23. We, as your Ward Cllrs., have several reservations about how the budget has been done which we consider to be based on risk and assumption. First, we are told the council tax has been frozen, however, whilst the core tax will not rise, you will still pay 4% more as a social care precept. That is not a freeze. In addition, in order to make ends meet, the proposal is to sell off all Council owned beach huts to a company owned by the Council. The revenue will be £54m, the majority of which will be spent on one-off costs in this coming financial year. It will take 20 years to repay the debt to third parties (i.e. banks) funded by future beach hut rental income paid out in loan fees. We were told that this strategy was underpinned by a report from consultants KPMG, however, the administration has refused to release that report saying it is still in draft form. Many questions were asked at Full Council in February about this “missing” report. In addition, the Council’s reserves have been considerably reduced. These are two quotes from the Council Financial Officer’s Statutory Section 25 Report Conclusions:
“Councillors need to fully acknowledge that the future financial sustainability of the council is dependent upon delivering the recurring savings through the transformation programme, as it is currently living beyond its means”, and, “The inherent risk must be acknowledged in using one off resources to support the proposed budget for 22/23”.
We did not support this budget as set out.
If you wish to communicate with us on any issues:
Cllr. Margaret Phipps – margaret.phipps@bcpcouncil.gov.uk - Tel: 01202 478266
Cllr. Vanessa Ricketts – vanessa.ricketts@bcpcouncil.gov.uk – Tel: 07760 391467
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Updates from the Airport Consultative Meeting in February
As a traditional regional passenger airport, the pandemic had a marked effect on operation. Capturing the British Airways aircraft parking and reintroducing cargo operations into Bournemouth enabled the Airport to survive through a very difficult FY21. Whilst more positive than 2020, it was still challenging. A number of lockdowns and the lack of confidence in international travel reduced passenger numbers to circa 300,000, which was a 63% reduction on 2019 levels. As a result, commercial business suffered. Implementation of cargo operations, alongside existing passenger profile, had enabled Bournemouth to consolidate the business and survive.
This table shows the fluctuation in passenger numbers from Financial Year 2020 to the projection for Financial Year 2023, as follows, and included cargo tonnage and employee headcount comparison:
Mr Etches, the Operations Director of the airport, stated that the coming summer was an opportunity for Bournemouth to reinstate passenger operations and had 705,000 seats on sale for the summer season alone. He stated that the close working relationship with the airline partners meant that they had confidence in the Airport and its friendly and efficient operation. The airline partners had increased their offering for the summer to include five new destinations and had grown their existing routes.
In summary, there were three key airlines, TUI, Ryanair and easyJet. There were seven tour operators working with the Airport, namely Hays Travel, Hurtigruten, Newmarket Holidays, P&O Cruises, Santa’s Lapland, Transun and TUI.
The Airport flew to thirty-three destinations in sixteen countries. Full List of Destinations: Ryanair - Alicante, Bergerac, Budapest, Dublin, Faro, Girona, Gran Canaria, Krakow, Lisbon, Majorca, Malaga, Murcia, Tenerife Wroclaw and Zadar TUI - Antalya, Corfu, Crete, Dalaman, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Kefalonia, Lanzarote, Majorca, Menorca, Paphos, Rhodes, Tenerife and Zante
Cargo: The development of cargo operations into a regular offering at Bournemouth provided customers from overseas to capitalise on the London and UK market. Bournemouth provided an efficient and timely solution for their supply chain which outstripped the use of the traditional London airports.
Collectively, the increase in passengers and development of cargo operations would build jobs for the region and contribute to the success of the business in the local area.
To underpin the Airport’s commitment to cargo operations, it now had a Head of Cargo, who was busy working with partners around the world to promote the advantages of working with Bournemouth Airport.
The pandemic provided a regular schedule of flights to China, collecting PPE and test kits on behalf of the NHS. This operation was being transitioned to move e-commerce from China to the UK on a routine basis. The advent and increase in online shopping had delivered a whole new world of cargo.
In parallel, a weekly schedule to JFK exporting and importing freight to the USA had been operating for over a year. It was hoped that this success could be replicated with other countries and to other continents.
Whilst BREXIT had seen the UK move away from routine European business, an opportunity had arisen to fly freight from Europe into the UK via Bournemouth. The Airport was working hard to bring this to fruition.
Net Zero Carbon Emissions: Regional and City Airports (RCA) was committed to net zero carbon emissions from airport operations fully within its own control by 2050 at the latest, reducing absolute emissions to the furthest extent possible and addressing any remaining emissions through investment in carbon removal and storage. The Targets were:
• The establishment of suitable business practices and management routines to support progress towards the strategic objective, including developing a reporting structure for the RCA Group board to monitor progress;
• To successfully apply for ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) membership for Exeter, Bournemouth and Norwich Airports;
• To achieve ACA Level 1 Mapping accreditation for Exeter, Bournemouth and Norwich Airports.
Mr Etches was pleased to advise that Bournemouth, Exeter and Norwich airports had met all the necessary requirements for Level 1, “Mapping of the Airport Carbon Accreditation Programme” awarded by Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) and were now working towards Level 2.
Property – Planning Applications
1. Outline planning consent for 85,100 sqm employment floorspace. Creating 2,600 jobs and a potential £100 million benefit to the economy. 25 hectares of new industrial land with road improvements – at least 60% for storage or distribution, with the rest for other industrial uses and a smaller proportion of offices.
2. Planning consent granted for a link road to be developed between Aviation Park East and Aviation Park West. This will alleviate unnecessary business park traffic utilising public roads, as well as facilitating improved cycle and pedestrian access.
3. Detailed planning consent for a 10,328 sqm unit on Aviation Park East for light industry, general industry and storage and distribution
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Christchurch Town Christmas Lights
I know its only March, but the Christchurch Town Council are already talking about Christmas and the Christmas lights. There have been many complaints in the past about the Christmas lights, so it has been decided that Christchurch Town Council will this year be working with other bodies such as Christchurch Chamber and Rotary to make Christmas better in The town.
It is proposed that this year we will have Christmas lights across the whole borough, not just in the town centre , but in other shopping areas - for example in Commons Ward this would be at the shops at Marlow Drive, the Grove, on the Fairmile and on Barrack Road. The lights would be attached to the street lights to provide power. It is hoped that the lights will encourage people to use the shops in these areas and give a bit of Christmas magic. There are also plans for a Christmas trail for children with different themes for different wards in the borough to encourage families to visit the different areas.
There is a Christmas light survey on-going and I encourage you to have your say at survey link https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/76WTL6 or contact myself
Councillor Gardiner at cllrcgardiner@christchurch-tc.gov.uk or
James Atkinson ( Project Officer ) jatkinson@christchurch-tc.gov.uk.
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Community Matters is produced and edited by a team of local residents who try to present you with the facts that will both keep you informed and enable you to make up your own mind on local issues
Jumpers and St Catherine's Hill RA
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