"Published on Friday 15 May 2009 11:20 Madam, I refer to Dr Lawton's letter on your pages (Mercury, May 7) 'Policy is dead in the water'. Dr Lawton has looked at chapter five 'Natural, Historic & Built Environment' of the Derbyshire Dales local plan and he pays particular reference to the policy NBE9 which protects 'Important open spaces alongside the A6 in Darley Dale'. I would like to reassure Dr Lawton and your readers, that the St Elphin's Park Retirement Village built on the site of the old St Elphin's School has already gone a very long way towards helping to protect the important open spaces and the natural, historic and built environment along the A6. Visitors to the Marketing Suite will see that this is a temporary building which will be taken away when the sales and marketing of the site reaches a conclusion. Those visitors who look at the model and the computer generated image of the village will appreciate that the development was planned to sit largely where all the old school buildings were, thus protecting much of the open space on the site. Audley, the owners, developers and operators of the site, have helped the local plan by preserving the attractive former chapel building, the 1920s dormitory and of course the main old School House which was greatly in need of care and attention. Trees have been protected while work has taken place and new habitats for wildlife have been provided. (There are some lovely bat roosts for example). Wildlife is here in abundance and at the last count some of residents at St Elphin's Park had spotted and listed 21 species of birds already! I would urge and encourage Dr Lawton and any other local residents to call in at the Marketing Suite which is open between 10am and 5pm daily and take a look for themselves. St Elphin's Park is a fabulous Retirement Village and Audley are enhancing the existing natural beauty of the area. Alison Davies
Reprinted by kind permission of Matlock Mercury |
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