Last updated:
8th August 2023
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AWE Burghfield
See notes
Original request:
Policy TB04 (https://www.planvu.co.uk/wbc/written/lp/cpt3.php) states that:
3.15 Assessments were undertaken by the ONR in December 2010 based upon development commitments that are now part of the Adopted West Berkshire Core Strategy. These assessments do not take account of any additional development that could arise in the vicinity of the site through the MDD or similar documents produced by the other authorities within the consultation zones for AWE A and AWE B (Reading Borough; West Berkshire District; Basingstoke and Deane Borough together with Wokingham Borough). Therefore, any changes in the numbers of people living, working, shopping and/or visiting the area around the AWE sites must be carefully assessed across the consultation zones.
1. May I have copies of any records in which these “assessments” and their implications have been communicated to the Council and any records you have of discussions about this matter.
2. Looking at the last sentence “Therefore, any changes in the numbers of people living, working, shopping and/or visiting the area around the AWE sites must be carefully assessed across the consultation zones”. May I have copies of any reports or meeting minutes where any limits, or potential limits, to the number of people within any zone around AWE Burghfield have been discussed.
Clarification received from the applicant:
By “May I have copies of any records in which these “assessments” and their implications have been communicated to the Council and any records you have of discussions about this matter” I was referring to the assessments undertaken in 2010 by ONR and reported in paragraph 3.15 of the Local Plan as published on your web-site. How did the ONR communicate those assessments to you and inform you of the consequences of them?
Question 1
The plan states that “Therefore, any changes in the numbers of people living, working, shopping and/or visiting the area around the AWE sites must be carefully assessed across the consultation zones.” What is the process for this “careful assessment?” Do you have a written process or any records of careful assessments performed in the last 10 or so years?
Question 2
Essentially I am trying to establish the provenance and application of paragraphs 3.15 and 3.16 on the Local Plan. I am surprised that ONR is referred to in your policy if you have not had any meetings with them. Maybe the discussions were by email or letter. Do you have any records of discussions with ONR leading to the inclusion of paragraphs 3.15 and 3.16 in your local policy?
The only reference we have been able to find in our records (including archived folders) clarifies that the assessments which were undertaken in December 2010 are based upon development commitments at April 2010 as part of the Examination into the West Berkshire Core Strategy. I have found no record of us having a copy of the assessment, however the enquirer could approach West Berkshire Council given it relates to their past local plan.
West Berkshire Council, as the lead authority for the AWE Off-Site Emergency Plan, monitors proposed and permitted development within relevant zones, with their emergency planning team requesting data periodically.
