Plympton Pathfields, The Latest News

14. June 2001 - Persimmons to re-establish dialogue with Pathfields

The Pathfields Group has hit out at Plym

The Pathfields Group has hit out at Plymouth City Council saying they ignore public opinion and concern.

Despite repeated letters and telephone calls to councillors and council officers, a wall of silence has been erected against legitimate public concerns on safety and environmental damage.

"As residents, we need answers, but we can't get them.   We are desperately frustrated and let down and feel the council have gone to sleep on the issues we have raised"

The Pathfields Preservation Group was set up to protect the land at Plympton's historic Pathfields.  The Group has campaigned long and hard to preserve the integrity of the open space from insensitive development.  Despite an unprecedented public outcry, the land was sold off to Beazer Homes for housing development.   Hard negotiation with the developers resulted in a number of important concessions and agreements to improve and enhance the development and to protect and preserve a lot of natural and historic features on the site.  But now, the Pathfields Group are dismayed by the city councils indifference to our repeated requests for consultation and assistance to resolve some of the outstanding issues, particularly on public safety.

"It is clear to see that many points that had been agreed by both city planners and developers have been ignored or conveniently forgotten.   Since the site was taken over from Beazer Homes by house builders Persimmon in March, a large chunk of protected city land including many trees has been absorbed into the building site or destroyed.  Fences protecting trees have been ripped out and trees flattened or damaged.  This is directly against promises given by the developers and the strict planning conditions set by the city council.  It simply turns the planning process into an empty farce."

Already the historic stone bridge on Dark Street Lane has been damaged by heavy construction vehicles exceeding specified weight loading for the road.  Now we learn that the bridge,  which the Environment Agency's conservation officer and the city councils archaeology officer have said is worthy of preservation, is to be partly demolished for no sound reason!

The Group fear that young children or animals could be drowned in the artificial flood lake engineered on the site to contain flood waters that normally would have spread harmlessly onto the water meadow.  The deliberate narrowing of dark Street Lane on a blind corner  to 'calm traffic' forces motorists to cross into the oncoming lane with no indication that speeds should be reduced.

"The rush by the Highways Department to accommodate the huge increase in traffic due to the development has lead to a poorly and potentially dangerous designed road.  Anyone can see that it is only a matter of time before vehicles hit each other head on, and it will be the city council people will blame".

The Pathfields Group has also learned from a Persimmon employee that building work which was meant to be completed in April 2002 will now be compressed by six months raising fears that promised landscaping will be abandoned.   Improvements to clad stark concrete surfaces on culverts throughout the site have also been dropped according to the same source despite previous assurances by former developers Beazer Homes.  Persimmons mission statement claims that it places environmental considerations at a high priority, are beginning to ring hollow.

A meeting before Christmas between the developers, the Pathfields Group, the Environment Agency, the city council and city councillors, chaired by Gary Streeter MP now appears to have been a waste of time as promises are being ignored and local concerns marginalised by the new developers in order to complete the site ahead of schedule.

All these issue have been brought to the attention of the city council, planning officers, conservation officer, Persimmons and elected city councillors.  After several weeks not one response has been forthcoming.

"We are beginning to despair that the public can have any faith in the integrity of a sham planning process which effectively cuts out local opinion in favour of the interests of developers.  What is the point in an elected process of representation when not even our elected councillors can be bothered to raise such fundamental issues of safety and environmental concern on our behalf". 

The Pathfields Group will be   contacting other local community campaign groups in the process of fighting other unwanted developments to warn them that they can expect little support from the city or it's elected representatives.

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