"Published on Monday 21 August 2006 16:50 DEVELOPERS behind the controversial regeneration of a former school have been accused of trying to take a "back door route" to building on protected land. Councillors and members of the public have criticised proposals to build a car park near to Grove Lane, Darley Dale, as part of plans to transform St Elphin's into a retirement village complex. At a heated Darley Dale Town Council meeting, developer Raven Audley Court's managing director, Nick Sanderson, was asked why the car park was planned, when he himself admitted it probably wouldn't be used. Mr Sanderson said: "We have to provide a certain number of car parking spaces for our residents. We can lower the impact of the car park by surface treatment and by obscuring it." Cllr Tony Brooks said: "When we asked you about car parking we were told the elderly nature of the residents would mean only a small requirement. Now we are told there needs to be one per resident and some for staff." Grove Lane resident Steve Chrystal, who said the car park and its lighting would be intrusive, added: "You have come in and wooed everyone and then expanded the scheme until it's become unacceptable. "It seems you have a five to ten year plan to develop the site and it seems a back door route to changing (the proposed car park site) from a greenfield site to a brownfield site to develop on." Mr Sanderson replied: "You're completely wrong." Cllr John Evans then asked: "If you admit the parking spaces around the north side wouldn't be used then why build them? "Is it completely essential to put the extra car parking in there?" Mr Sanderson replied: "No." Cllr Dave Shimwell also criticised the expanding scope of Raven Audley Court's designs and the encroachment outside the existing buildings' footprint, known as a ropeline. He said: "You are 50 per cent over on your original estimate and people are justifiably concerned about that." Mr Sanderson said: "The scheme started off inside the ropeline but it's not about numbers it's about coming up with a better quality design. "You can expect that we will take tonight very seriously and do what we can to allay your fears." It was agreed that a meeting be arranged between Darley Dale Town Council and Raven Audley Court to settle on an agreeable design." By Richard Woolley
Reprinted by kind permission of Matlock Mercury |
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