This is the third. Annual Review. Chairman s Statement. Charlie Watson Chairman. Annual Review 2013 CPRE Gloucestershire 1

Transcription

1 Annual Review Chairman s Statement This is the third year that I have had the honour to introduce the Branch Annual Report. Without a doubt the past year has been far and away the busiest and most hectic. It has often felt as though we were merely attempting to hold back a flood in this case a flood of planning applications. Our responses, however, have always sought to be positive, and extra support in the office and the occasional use of a consultant to respond to the most contentious of the planning applications has helped to keep us just afloat. At the same time, however, we have also seen a number of initiatives, including the refinement of our new website, now being used by a surprisingly high number of members and others to download the Branch s responses to Local Plans, planning applications and campaign materials. New ways have been found to raise our profile in terms of the press and media, and new working arrangements have been forged with the University of Gloucestershire. We are about to fund a post in the National Office to focus on housing issues and are negotiating to prepare a film about the value of the countryside. None of this would have been possible without the expertise, commitment and time given by a small group of volunteers acting on your behalf. I am immensely grateful for their continued support and trust you all appreciate their endeavours, some of which are highlighted in this report for Charlie Watson Chairman Gloucestershire - a landscape worth protecting Rob Colley Annual Review 2013 CPRE Gloucestershire 1

2 Annual Review 2013 INTRODUCTION CPRE Gloucestershire has produced Annual Reports each year since its founding in This report for 2013 differs from its predecessors it is shorter, it is in colour and we have moved the reporting year to the calendar year to bring it in line with our accounts. Overall, 2013 was a successful year dominated by five major areas of activity: l influencing local plans across the County l scrutinising proposals for development for housing, waste and energy l pressing for the long-delayed designation of a Forest of Dean AONB l raising our profile l implementing our recruitment strategy. BRANCH ORGANISATION Managing the affairs of the Branch and administering its funds and assets is the responsibility of the Executive Committee which met three times during the year. Its officers have continued to provide leadership and support Charlie Watson, Chairman; Richard Lloyd and David Brooke, Vice Chairmen; David Bayne, Secretary; Andrew Ellis, Treasurer; and Elizabeth Bourne, Membership Secretary. Thanks also need to be extended to our elected members, District Chairmen Nicky Godding The 2013 AGM at the Cheltenham Ladies College and representatives of kindred organisations. The Executive Committee is advised by a Management Sub-Committee and a Policy Sub-Committee, both of which met quarterly. A separate group administers the CPRE Gloucestershire Awards. During the year we also convened an ad hoc group to advise on our approach to recruitment, capably chaired by Nick Holliday. We maintain a small office in Community House, Gloucester. During the year we were sorry to say farewell to Imogen Fawcett, our County Director but were delighted to welcome Lisa Belfield in the latter part of the year to assist our planning work. As ever, our thanks go to Marilyn McKechnie for her administrative support in the office. The burden of CPRE s campaigning continues to fall mainly to our seven Districts whose members take forward most of our planning casework. Particular thanks go to our District Chairmen Prue Vernon, Berkeley Vale; Tom Hancock, Cheltenham, Gloucester and Tewkesbury; Anne Prufer and later in the year Mike Mackey, Forest of Dean; Peter Loveday, North Cotswolds; Nick Dummett, South Cotswolds; Geof Murray, Stroud; and Geraldine Shepherd in Tetbury. We were saddened by news of the untimely death of Peter Burton. Peter had been a mainstay of our work in the Tewkesbury area for many years. Our 2013 AGM was held at the Cheltenham Ladies College in July. Following the usual business, a good sized audience heard about the work of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust from its inspirational Chief Executive, Martin Spray CBE. In furthering the work of the Branch, the Trustees have been guided by the published advice of the Charity Commission. 2 CPRE Gloucestershire Annual Review 2013

3 Campaigning issues Gloucester, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Joint Core Strategy (the JCS) The heart of CPRE s work is its campaigning. Below is a sample of some of our major activities. Equally important are the many inputs we make on smaller planning applications which both individually and cumulatively have an impact on the countryside. When complete and adopted, this Strategy will become the blueprint for development across the heart of Gloucestershire. We have invested considerable amounts of time in helping to get it right. At the end of the year the Branch submitted a detailed response to a consultation on the Councils preferred option. Our particular concerns relate to an unprecedented rate of new development (some 33,200 new houses by 2031), major incursions into the green belt and an absence of policies requiring phasing and prioritising brownfield development. Green Belt at Badgeworth Rob Colley Local Plans for Stroud and Cotswold District Work on these plans is at a more advanced stage than for the JCS with the Plan for Stroud being forwarded to the Government in December for Examination. Again, our concerns relate to the overall scale of new development needed but also to the critical issue of meeting the needs of local communities through proper provision for affordable housing. Overall, however, we are supportive of what is being proposed. This work has again been a priority for CPRE as the outcome will shape the location of development and the future of rural communities. Stroud District Local Plan Five years housing land supply and Localism Without an up to date Local Plan and the ability to demonstrate a five year housing land supply our local authorities are vulnerable to speculative planning applications which are likely to be lost at appeal against the wishes of local communities and against the Government s alleged commitment to localism. Many of our villages and small towns are under threat even within the Cotswolds AONB. The need for affordable homes is well understood but housing schemes at Tetbury, Stow on the Wold, Chipping Campden, Winchcombe, Alderton, Twyning, Fairford and on the edge of Stroud in the Slad Valley, at Rodborough Fields and at Leonard Stanley and King s Stanley have all failed to meet these needs whilst protecting our countryside and therefore have been opposed. Land lost to housing at Chipping Campden

4 CAMPAIGNING ISSUES Proposed Forest of Dean AONB Special protection for the Forest of Dean area has now been an aspiration for over 80 years! The area was proposed for AONB designation in Government reports after the Second World War but various moves towards formal designation have not succeeded. With Friends of the Forest we are actively continuing to lobby Natural England to bring forward designation and are about to publish an illustrated report restating the case for designation and aimed at renewing public support. Bluebells in the Forest of Dean Rob Colley Renewable Energy Gloucestershire remains remarkably free from intrusive renewable energy projects although an increase in proposals for solar arrays appears to be emerging. The need to diversify energy sources and the place of renewable energy in the energy mix are now recognised in our revised Energy Policy statement. As proposals come forward, each case will be considered on its merits, assessing issues such as scale, visual impact, land quality and restoration of the site at the end of the life of the project. A solar array Shutterstock Proposed Javelin Park Waste Incinerator In March we were delighted when the County Council s planning committee unanimously turned down the planning application for the proposed Javelin Park waste incinerator. CPRE has consistently opposed this project on the grounds of being far too big for Gloucestershire s needs and because of the huge impact it would have on the surrounding countryside and on the setting of the Cotswolds AONB. Regrettably, the applicant appealed against the decision. The Branch therefore submitted evidence to the planning appeal and Nick Dummett is representing it at the Inquiry. 4 CPRE Gloucestershire Annual Review 2013

5 working with others We have been pleased to work closely with a number of organisations during the year. A joint programme of research with the University of Gloucestershire School of Natural and Social Sciences has now been agreed. It will focus on the lower Severn Vale, an area of land and water in the county under particular pressure for change and development. We are a member of the Gloucestershire Local Nature Partnership (LNP) and have played an active role in helping to define its strategy and programme of activities. The LNP is likely to be a major influence in shaping policy for Gloucestershire s rural environment. In November, we jointly hosted a seminar with Natural England highlighting the importance of National Character Area profiles for policy development and delivery. The well attended seminar in Bath was planned and chaired by our Vice-Chairman, Richard Lloyd. Our connections with CPRE National Office in London are strong. For example: n Charlie Watson has been elected Vice Chairman of the County Branch Forum (the meeting of all Branch Chairs ) and he also led the Task and Finish Group to review CPRE s policies on housing and is currently helping to prepare a Partnership Agreement between the CPRE national and branch charities; n Richard Lloyd is a member of the Task and Finish Group reviewing policy on the rural economy; n Bob Brown represented the Branch on a Task and Finish Group to set CPRE s Fracking policy; n through Nick Dummett, we are developing proposals for a promotional film that will contain both national messages and material about Gloucestershire; n we are discussing funding a new post in National Office to promote CPRE s views on housing more effectively in the media; and n we have contributed to development of National Office positions on other policy matters. The Branch is part of CPRE SW. Charlie Watson is our formal representative. In addition, Richard Lloyd chairs the Rural Economy Topic Group and Bob Brown the Topic Group on Minerals. Richard Lloyd Working with the University: Frampton-on-Severn at the heart of the lower Servern Vale Annual Review 2013 CPRE Gloucestershire 5

6 our awards 2 In 2013 four CPRE Gloucestershire Awards were made. The projects recognised through the Awards were: 1 Kingshill Meadow housing scheme, Cirencester 2 Meysey Hampton Memorial Hall 3 Stonesfield Close, Southrop 4 Churchdown Park Ponds Thirty-two very diverse projects have now received a CPRE Award, some large, some small but all outstanding in their way, bringing benefits to Gloucestershire s environment, people and local communities. Last year, for the first time, a major housing scheme featured. Richard Lloyd Richard Lloyd Churchdown Parish Council Richard Lloyd getting our message across The need to improve our exposure in the local media is an essential part of promoting our views to a wider audience. In this we have been ably assisted by Nicky Godding Communications. Good communications are a vital part of our business and during the year over a dozen press releases were issued. Some were more successful than others but overall they have assisted in getting our message across. Our Branch website now provides an excellent window for our work and acts as a repository for our policy statements and views. It has been encouraging to see an increasing number of hits and the extent to which our documents are being downloaded. We published spring and autumn editions of our newsletter now titled Gloucestershire Views and thank David Bayne as our Editor and all those who have contributed articles. Copies of the newsletter go well beyond the membership and form an important part of our communications. Once again CPRE Stroud District published an additional Stroud Update for its local members and friends. our membership The Branch adopted a recruitment and retention strategy in 2012 under which our Districts were encouraged to create a programme of local recruitment opportunities through events and publicity. It is therefore pleasing to see that this approach is beginning to show results. We have welcomed 123 new members to Gloucestershire Branch during 2013, double the numbers of 2012 with 31 new members joining in November and December alone. A downward trend over many years has been reversed and we had a small net gain of 23 members over the year. At the end of December 2013 our membership stood at We have published and are making good use of a Gloucestershire version of the national recruitment leaflet. Additionally, a leaflet drop was made to all houses in the Tetbury area which had been subject to controversial housing developments. However, while the approach proved useful in raising our profile locally it was only of limited value as a recruitment tool. In addition to our core professional work, our Districts have run a number of successful events for members and guests. These included visits to Broughton Castle, Ragley Hall, the 6 CPRE Gloucestershire Annual Review 2013 CPRE Visitors admire the view from the roof of Broughton Castle National Memorial Arboretum, the Whiteway Colony and the Kingshill Meadow development, which was a recipient of one of our Awards. Talks were arranged on Art and the Landscape, the work of the Royal Household, and the restoration of Windsor Castle after the fire.

7 FINANCIAL INFORMATION CPRE Gloucestershire Branch Summarised Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 st December Income Branch Share of National Subscriptions Interest and Investment Account Legacies Other Income Expenditure Administration Expenses Postages, Telephone, Printing etc Rent and Service Charges Annual Report/AGM Newsletters Miscellaneous Award Scheme Branch Development Surplus/Deficit for the Year Gain on Investments Transfer to Fighting Fund General Fund, brought forward General Fund, carried forward Balance Sheet as at 31 st December 2013 Assets Debtors Bank Current Account Bank Deposit Account Investments less Current Liabilities Financed by General Fund Fighting Fund Copies of the full independently examined accounts will be available at the AGM Treasurer s Report There has been a very welcome increase in the Branch s share of the national subscriptions together with much higher interest and investment income. This means that the deficit on office running expenses is less than 1,000 (about half the previous year) although overall expenditure has increased by nearly 5,000. Branch development costs are met wholly from reserves. We are not aware of any further legacies to come and the Executive Committee is now considering the long-term use of Branch reserves, in addition to commitments already approved for the current year. The Fighting Fund has already been increased to a more realistic level. Andrew Ellis Annual Review 2013 CPRE Gloucestershire 7

8 CPRE GLOUCESTERSHIRE BRANCH TRUSTEES The Trustees of the Branch are the Branch Officers, Elected Members of the Executive Committee and the CPRE District Chairmen Mr Charlie Watson Chairman Mr David Bayne Mrs Elizabeth Bourne Mr David Brooke (from 7/13) Mr Nick Dummett Mr Andrew Ellis Major Tom Hancock Mr Nick Holliday (from 7/13) Mrs Ros Lane Mr Richard Lloyd Mr Peter Loveday Mr Mike Mackey (from 9/13) Mr Geof Murray Mrs Anne Prufer (to 9/13) Mrs Geraldine Shepherd Mrs Prue Vernon The Gloucestershire Branch of CPRE promotes and encourages, for the benefit of the public, the improvement and protection of the Gloucestershire countryside and its towns and villages, and the better development of the rural environment. It acts upon any matters affecting the planning, improvement and protection of the countryside and landscape. CPRE Gloucestershire Community House 15 College Green Gloucester GL1 2LZ Charity number: our DISTRICTS Forest of Dean Berkeley Vale Cheltenham, Gloucester & Tewkesbury Stroud Tetbury Stroud South Cotswolds North Cotswolds Design Colette Brownrigg Printing TopFlight, Cheltenham & CPRE Gloucestershire Annual Review 2013