Agenda item

Yeovil Refresh and Economic Development Update Report

Minutes:

The Chairman advised that there were members of the public that wanted to speak on this agenda item.

 

Comments made by the first member of the public included;

 

·         A quote which related to proposed access and layout works to Middle Street proposed in 2003 was referred to. The quote included comments made by Councillor Tony Lock and the Chairman of Area South Committee at that time, stating that the works in Middle Street were a great improvement and provided greater access to disabled people. She questioned why these improvements would now be changed.

·         She also referred to public consultation which took place on the 9th and 10th March 2018. She had not been aware of the consultation and questioned whether it would have been accessible to disabled members of the public.

·         The findings from the public consultation had not been published. She had not seen any evidence that the proposal was supported by the community.

·         It was pointed out that a public petition had been submitted in objection to the proposal. It was also pointed out that objections had been included in the local newspaper and on social media, however these objections and concerns had not been addressed within the report.

·         Disabled visitors to the town centre would be disadvantaged.

·         20 or more disabled parking spaces would be lost.

·         The proposal is unacceptable. Too few disabled spaces will be available and they will be too far from the town centre.

·         The report states that there are no equality and diversity issues, however this is incorrect.

 

The Chairman clarified that the consultation took place in the Quedam, details of which were published online and in the local newspaper. He advised that ‘Access for All’ were consulted and that there would be opportunity for further consultation. He also added that disabled parking spaces were not being eliminated, they were being moved to an alternative site.

 

The Regeneration Programme Manager addressed the Committee. She advised that this was an update report and that no decisions were being made, so there were no equality and diversity implications which would be directly affected by this report. She also advised that the official consultation had not begun. This consultation would be carried out by Somerset County Council and she was expecting an announcement on this shortly.

 

Another member of the public addressed the Committee. Her comments included;

 

·         She advised that she started the petition. She noted that the spaces would be relocated, rather than removed and advised that the petition was to retain the disabled parking on Middle Street.

·         She was pleased that access to the town centre was a priority, however the proposal would make the situation so much worse for disabled visitors to the town centre. The plans will make Yeovil less accessible for people with mobility impairments and inaccessible for others.

·         She hoped that she would be able to discuss these concerns with the ward members in further detail and invited councillors to visit the town centre with her to share her issues.

·         She raised concerns about the equality and diversity impact assessment which had been carried out.

·         Her life would be negatively impacted in terms of independence, mental health and quality of life. So many people will be excluded from the town centre.

 

The Regeneration Programme Manager reiterated that the official consultation process had not yet started.

 

Referring to her report, she explained that the Yeovil Access Strategy work had begun and once completed would be jointly adopted with Somerset County Council. This would ensure that any proposals would require agreement from the Somerset County Council Highways Team.

 

She advised that since writing the report and following receipt of tenders, interviews for the Public Realm Design Project had been undertaken and a successful bidder had been selected. She was however unable to announce who the successful bidder was due to procurement regulations.

 

She explained that the Economic Development Team were working closely with the Refresh Team to deliver the programme.

 

During the discussion, member raised some concerns and suggestions which included;

 

·         Members were aware of the concerns from blue badge holders and explained that they were looking to find suitable places to relocate the disabled spaces to.

·         The Chairman advised that progress on the co-worker hub was continuing.

·         It was suggested that it could be an option to restrict the hours when the road will be pedestrianised, to provide disabled access outside of these times.

·         A member commented that the consultation process has not yet begun and commented that some comments in the press did not contain all of the facts and had not been helpful. He also pointed out that things had changed since the comments made in 2003.

·         The Chairman explained that he would be happy to discuss the proposals with any members of the public that wish to contact him.

·         One member commented that members of the public were concerned that houses were being built on public car parks. He clarified that a review had been carried out, which was important to the Yeovil Refresh Project. He pointed out the importance of the consultation which would take place and welcomed involvement from the community.

·         One member advised the committee of a near miss accident which he had witnessed on Middle Street.

 

On the subject of the car parks in Yeovil, the Regeneration Programme Manager advised that SSDC Local Plan provided many options on which consultation was still to take place. She confirmed that building on the Petters Way car park was not part of the current Yeovil Refresh Programme.

 

The Chairman thanked the Regeneration Programme Manager for her report.

 

The Lead Specialist – Economy addressed the Committee. He explained that the Economic Development Team and the Regeneration Team were working closely together to ensure that the project is successful.

 

He explained that the new Economic Development Strategy had been recently approved and the team would be working to deliver the new strategy. He explained that the strategy was developed with a lot of input from members and that area workshops had been held. They had also directly contacted 40 businesses for feedback.

 

He pointed out to members that the strategy had been split into themes. He felt that all the themes within the strategy were important, especially around the time of Brexit. Issues such as business support, regeneration of market towns and training for business will still be important. He hoped that by having a strategy in place, it would aid successful bids for project support funds.

 

He advised members that the team were looking at projects across the district and noted that Yeovil had rural areas closely adjoining the town.

 

He explained to members that Yeovil Innovation Phase 2 was underway and that the team had been working with Yeovil College to support additional level 4 training.

 

The Chairman thanked the Lead Specialist – Economy for his report and for attending the meeting.

Supporting documents: