at our last town council meeting we objected to a planning application made by the trust.
A number of Oakham South East Residents attended the meeting and raised concerns about
noise from the existing building, pointing the finger at staff who apparently play loud music with
windows open.
I understand the trust currently runs well supported living accommodation for disabled residents
on the allotment land located just of Willow Crescent.
The Trust rents the land from Oakham Town Council and rather unsatisfactorily the town council
issues very short term leases.
I believe the land should have been sold to the trust or a long term lease sold to them and ground rent
charged.
Oakham Town Council used to have a representative on the board of trustees but for some reason only known to Cllr Joyce Lucas she decided to tell the council this was no longer required???
The trust now wants to build a new building containing independent living flats and plans to convert the current supported living into independent.
The Trust is obliged to consult and seek permission from Oakham Town Council before building on
the land. It appears they failed to do this although they have since written to me saying they have
consulted with the council.
I have written to the council asking who decided not to share this information with the full council. So far I have received no reply.
If the trust did consult with the council it is once again looking like Mr Haley the former Mayor
decided once again an important issue was not of any interest to the full council.
Around a year ago the council was made aware of a short letter from the trust indicating they wanted to build something on the land, the council members asked for further information and nothing was provided.
The first I saw of the proposal was last weeks planning application.
I objected due to poor access to the site and the increased traffic that would come from all that would be needed to support individual disabled people living independent lives.
The allotment site has no proper road access it is served by a shared concrete drive, the Town Council does not know who owns it.
At our last meeting we instructed the Clerk to contact our solicitors to look at the deeds to see if the trust can build an extra building on the allotment land.
I think the trust were somewhat surprised by the council decision. The Town Council in my opinion is now being made to look as if it is doing something wrong in the local press. This is unfair, the Trust should have ensured it had consent from the council before it spent thousands on preparing this project and submitting plans to build on land they don't own.
And only after the council recommended rejection of their plans has the trust invited Cllrs to a meeting this evening, I cant attend due to work and others wont attend because the trust has refused to hold the meeting at the Willow Crescent site.
Application Summary 2018/0646/FUL
Rutland County Councillor Alan Walters has also written to all Cllrs asking us to agree to something in PRINCIPLE, not sure how we can do that when we have not been made aware of any formal request from the trust.
willowbrook
Alan Walters
Yesterday, 16:04
Martin Brookes
I am writing to members of Oakham Town Council in my role as portfolio holder for Adult Social Care in Rutland.
Whereas the Town Council has full entitlement to determine its own use of land and premises in its ownership, I should like to briefly outline my formal thoughts on the proposed improvements / additions to Willowbrook.
To be brief, and to be blunt, Willowbrook provides a dedicated service to some of the most vulnerable persons in our community. It has done so for some three decades requiring little in the way of intervention from public authorities other than our statutory roles. As such it is a highly respected and valued service to the community.
The proposals to improve the facilities and extend them are closely matched to the assessed future needs in Rutland, and I would ask if members of Oakham Town Council could please give their most kind consideration to agreeing to the PRINCIPLE of the improvements on land that OTC owns.
I am aware of some sensitivities around the security of the premises, however I do not believe these concerns to be sound, given the thirty years history and lack of issues.
I make no comment on the actual detail of the current planning application, as this is another matter to be determined separately, I merely ask that you consider with an open mind the proposal in principle, as this affords OTC a genuine opportunity to make a valuable contribution to the future welfare of Rutland Residents, at no cost to itself, and with all the kudos that could imply.
In the meantime I would thank OTC for providing Rutland House Community Trust with the plans of trees etc to help RHCT come up with their planning application, and I also thank you for accepting receipt of the plans on 2nd February 2018 (so I am advised), so as to give ample time to raise any issues. I also thank the Allotment Association for their support.
I understand that Willowbrook would welcome individual members to visit by prior appointment to meet with staff and see the incredible work that is being done every day for our residents – having visited myself more than once I can strongly recommend such a visit.
Kind regards,
Alan Walters
Cllr Alan Walters
Portfolio holder for health, public health, adult social care, and community safety.
