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News Articles July 2006 -> December 2006 |
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BAG Supporters - Email Addresses 02/07/06
We are currently updating our records. If you are a BAG supporter and have changed your e-mail address in the last 15 months contact us and give us your new e-mail address so that we can keep you up to date.
Alternatively if you would like to become a BAG supporter, please contact us and let us know if you would like to receive e-mails from BAG.
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BAG Hits the Headlines Again and Again 02/07/06
BAG have been busy spreading the word and we have scanned in copies of some of the articles in case you missed the stories NB Some of these articles are PDF files and will require Adobe Reader to view them
Scotland Today (STVwebsite) 9June 2006 Renfrewshire World 16 June 2006 (pdf) Paisley Daily Express 19 June 2006 (pdf) Renfrewshire Gazette 28 June 2006 (pdf)
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David vs. Goliath? 28 July 2006
We are a small group fighting against the greed and might of a multinational company with enormous clout and influence within the political and economic spectrum.
The following is a quote from "The National Wealth – who gets what in Britain" by Dominic Hobson:
"Royal Ordnance, sold to British Aerospace in April 1987 for £190million, turned out to be a bargain. Within a year, unwanted factories sold by the taxpayers for £5million were sold to property developers for £450million".
So British Aerospace made an immediate profit of £260million, and in effect this meant that the rest of the sites (including Bishopton ROF) cost absolutely nothing. Now the same company insists that (IF the development ever gets off the ground) they cannot build access roads into the proposed new town development until they have made further profits from the sales of the first phase of 400 houses. This is a national disgrace and must be brought to the attention of planners and politicians at every level. It demonstrates the unfairness in the way Bishopton is being treated. We have always argued that the pursuit of profit should NOT be the main driver in the clean up of the largest contaminated brownfield site in Scotland. Our health and safety, and that of future generations, must always come first.
Throughout our struggle against BAE/Redrow, Renfrewshire Council, the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Structure Plan Joint Committee, and now taking our case to the Scottish Executive, we have been ably assisted by a small group of dedicated BAG supporters who have given their time, effort, and in many cases their own personal finance, to support our campaign. There can be no doubt about the determination and commitment that exists within the Action Group. We have continually fought against this unwanted development, on your behalf, at every available opportunity. We have collected almost 7,000 letters of objection and delivered them personally to the planners (which from a small community of approximately 2,000 households represents a staggering response). We continually highlight the ROF issue by writing letters, reports and articles, by lobbying MSPs and councillors and by issuing statements to the press. Recently we have received much radio and press exposure, and we will continue to fight against the destruction of our community at every opportunity.
Throughout the last 18 months, since the group's formation, we have been touched by the generosity of spirit of Bishopton residents, who have encouraged us with their expressions of support and continued enthusiasm in signing letters of objection at every stage of the so-called "consultation" process. Many have contributed what they can to our fighting fund and we would also like to thank those one or two residents who have made individual donations on an anonymous basis.
However, we desperately need more funds in order to continue our campaign, and finance independent expert advice.
Do you care enough about your village to make a small donation? If so, please click on the DONATION button on homepage and give what you can.
We are using PAYPAL to handle our donations. Therefore you can make your donation from any part of the world and support our campaign.
ALL DONATIONS NO MATTER HOW SMALL WILL HELP TO WIN THE BATTLE FOR BISHOPTON AND WILL BE GRATEFULLY RECEIVED.
REMEMBER – WHO WON IN THE BATTLE OF DAVID VS. GOLIATH?
We can win with your help. This is our home. We will not allow it to be destroyed.
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95% against BAE/Redrow proposals 3/8/06
We are absolutely delighted at the outcome of the recent survey undertaken by the Community Council to reassess village opinion following the developer’s exhibition in May. The result is that a staggering 95% are against the development. This now conclusively establishes and re-asserts the feelings of the community, as reflected in previous results from the earlier referendum and the three rounds of consultation. We are glad that there is now no degree of ambiguity or doubt regarding the incredibly strong opposition that exists within our community. This evidence once again sends out a loud and clear message to the Scottish Executive, BAE, Redrow, Renfrewshire Council, planning officials and all the others that THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE IN BISHOPTON DO NOT WANT THIS DEVELOPMENT. HOW MANY MORE TIMES DO WE HAVE TO SPELL IT OUT – LEAVE OUR VILLAGE ALONE!!!
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Planning Argument Steadily Crumbles 2/08/2006
National Planning Framework Conundrum The Alteration to the Structure Plan 2006 and the Environment Statement which accompanies the Outline Planning Application for the ROF site both refer to the following statement in the 2004 National Planning Framework:
"Good transport connections make Gartcosh and Bishopton the preferred locations for long-term expansion to the east and west of Glasgow"
This statement is meant to add weight to their argument as it implies that the Scottish Executive has determined that Bishopton is the preferred location for long-term development. Renfrewshire Council also cites this statement as being evidence of Bishopton having been the subject of "extensive planning consideration".
Bishopton Action Group could not understand why this statement appeared in the National Planning Framework in 2004, since there was no justification given and no assessment of potential had been carried out with regard to the ROF site. So through the Freedom of Information Act we asked the Scottish Executive for information on who made the decision about Bishopton being the preferred location for long-term expansion, what were their reasons etc. (The full FOI request appears in the Correspondence section of our website.)
We were very surprised by the response from the Scottish Executive. We were informed that the Scottish Executive’s files contained no information relating to the points raised in our letter. We were also informed that the decision to identify Bishopton as a strategic location with long term potential for development was made by the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Structure Plan Joint Committee and that the statement in the National Planning Framework merely reflects the Structure Plan 2000.
For those not familiar with the Structure Plan 2000 this is what it said: "Planning Authorities will assess the potential of the following areas for strategic environmental renewal and development of housing, business and industrial uses.... (a) Bishopton (b) Gartcosh"
This is not quite the same as the statement in the National Planning Framework. So someone in the process of copying information from one document to another has misinterpreted this information and "will assess the potential" has been changed into "preferred location". We have brought this error to the attention of the Scottish Ministers and Renfrewshire Council.
These references to the 2004 National Planning Framework now hold no weight, as the Scottish Executive did not select Bishopton as being the preferred location for long term expansion. What will the officials /developers use to justify their argument now?
As for Renfrewshire Council Planning department, what will it use now as evidence that Bishopton has been considered extensively through the Planning System?
Working Party Missing Information Puzzle In 1999 a Working Party was set up by the Scottish Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning to explore various options for the ROF site after the factory ceased operation. Both the Local Plan 2006 and the Environment Statement accompanying the Outline Planning application for the ROF site refer to this working party. Through Freedom of Information we have discovered that they both leave out one crucial piece of evidence- The Working Party presented a final report in April 2001 but did not agree a preferred option for redevelopment - It was BAE Systems that chose the option of a mixed development of 2300 houses. Make up your own mind why these documents omitted this very important information.
The Planning argument is steadily crumbling...
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Transport Assessment - Developers On The Wrong Track! 2/10/2006 We are working hard on BAG's response to the Outline Planning Application for the ROF site and it will take us some time to complete. However we decided that our response to the Transport Assessment section raised such fundamental questions about the proposed development that it had to be submitted immediately. Click on link below to read BAG's Response to Transport Assessment. NB This is a small pdf file which requires Adobe Reader to view it.
BAG Response to Developer's Transport Assessment (19KB)
We have pointed out that the information provided by the developers is basically flawed, and given some examples:
It is frightening to think that this is the information that Renfrewshire Council will look at when making its decision on the outline planning application – so we felt it hugely important to correct it now. If the developers can get something as basic as the width of the bridge wrong, how do we know that other information provided is correct?
The developers will have the opportunity to discuss representations made with Renfrewshire Council and presumably any errors in the outline planning application and supporting documents will be amended. But what opportunity will the community have to make further representations if design changes or alterations to the developer’s submission are made? This obvious question over the inadequacy of the entire outline planning process has not been satisfactorily addressed by Renfrewshire Council. The developers have the opportunity to engage in an ongoing dialogue with the Council – but what is the parallel process to afford the community the same right?
In Bishopton's responses to the Structure Plan Alteration, the issue was raised that transport had not been assessed. However the officials responded that this would be dealt with at the Planning Application stage. So now we are in the nonsensical situation where we have two parallel planning processes:-
The officials of the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Structure Plan Joint Committee might believe that this is a sensible approach - BUT WE DON'T! ..... So a copy of our response to the Transport Assessment is winging its way to the Scottish Executive in order that they can make an informed decision about the principle of development at Bishopton ROF.
Bishopton's responses have always stressed that the assessments should not be done by the developer but should be done independently. Look at our response and make up your own mind.
NB There is still time to submit an objection to the Outline Planning application for Bishopton ROF. Although Renfrewshire Council stated that the public had four months to complain, they have admitted that the public can still object beyond that time. According to their own publication (which we brought to their attention!) 14 days is the minimum period and representations can be accepted by the Council after that period provided that the application is still to be determined.
The application cannot be determined until the Scottish Ministers have made their decision about the Structure Plan Alteration. This decision will probably not be taken until next year. So keep sending in your objections. You can download an objection letter from our homepage. Don't forget to add your own comments.
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New Freedom of Information Section 6/10/2006
We have acquired quite a few interesting documents which give an insight into the history of events which have led up to the submission of Alteration to the Structure Plan and the outline Planning application for the Bishopton ROF site. So we have created a new section where we can display our findings. Click on link to go to new page and read our findings
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Bishopton Delivers Another Magnificent Result 6/10/2006
BAG volunteers have collected over 2400 letters of objection to the Outline Planning Application for the Bishopton ROF site. This represents many hours of work from dedicated individuals (and sometimes their unsuspecting friends!). Some surrounding community councillors joined in too. We sincerely thank them all. They have done a great job and it is a fantastic achievement.
We would also like to thank everyone who took the time to fill in the letters and those who added their comments to the letter.
We have now collected over 9000 letters of objection to the development of Bishopton ROF site (This figure includes objections to the Structure Plan Alteration). We cannot make it any clearer to Renfrewshire Council, that this development is UNWANTED. We ask Renfrewshire Councillors to bear in mind one important question:
Given all of the brownfield sites available in the Glasgow and Clyde Valley area, who in their right mind would build a 2,500 house mixed-use development on a site:
We aim to deliver these letters to Renfrewshire Council on Friday 6th October at 2pm. However despite all of our hard work, Renfrewshire Council Planning Dept has indicated that not one official from the Planning Department will meet BAG and accept the submission of these letters. The letters have to be left at reception. This is a very strange response. The planning officials always seem to be able to find the time to meet the developers. Have a look at one of our recent FOI findings to see a very good example of this. View FOI article
In the meantime we continue our hard work on BAG's submission to the outline planning application. As usual we will make a very reasoned argument. We hope that this time the Councillors will be given the opportunity to read all of the objections unlike at the Alteration to Structure Plan where the issues were summarised and the reasoned arguments omitted
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BAG supporters successfully delivered over 2400 letters of objection to the Outline Planning application for the Bishopton ROF. We had written to the Planning Department and informed them of our intention to deliver these letters on Friday, but were informed that these letters should be delivered to reception and that no official would personally accept these letters on behalf of Renfrewshire Council as this was not Council procedure.
When BAG delivered objection letters to the Scottish Executive, Dr Graeme Purves Principal Planner, personally met with BAG and accepted the letters. The Glasgow and Clyde Valley Structure Plan manager also personally accepted objection letters delivered by BAG. Perhaps Renfrewshire Council should amend their procedures.
By not sending a representative from the planning department to accept these letters, the Council has missed a valuable opportunity to demonstrate to Bishopton and the press that they are willing to listen to the voices of objection.
Click on picture below which shows BAG supporters' delight at so many people having voiced their objections to the Outline Planning Application for Bishopton ROF
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Woodland Park or Community Con? 12/10/06 The developers of the ROF site, BAE Systems and Redrow make a point of emphasising that the project will provide about three quarters of the site as Community Woodland with public access. Close examination of the Outline Planning Application however, has revealed that this is misleading. According to the developers the site is being divided into two main sections, the housing and commercial development which will occupy approximately 23% of the overall site and the rest which will be "community woodland".
The "community woodland" however includes a large area of the site being retained by BAE Systems, agricultural land, part of Barochan Moss, the proposed landfill site and the proposed flood meadow and wetland area. The developers stated that these areas are all accessible to wildlife and can therefore be classed as "community woodland". There will be no public access to these areas however and the result is that the area of the community woodland which will be open to public access will amount to approximately 26% of the site i.e. practically the same as the proposed development area. Over 50% of the site will not be open to public access.
This is another illustration of "spin" and how to mislead a community into thinking that it is going to get much more than it will in practice.
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Transport Asses sment 13/10/06 The Transport Assessment section of the Outline Planning Application identifies the rail transport as capable of handling the additional passenger traffic which would be generated by the development. This was produced by consultants employed by the developers to produce a report on the transport situation. Obviously these expert consultants weren't around on Thursday morning when the train just after 8am was so full that about 30 passengers were left on Bishopton station to await the next service - and that is without ANY additional housing being built!
This is a further example of inaccuracies in the Transport Assessment of the Outline Planning Application. The previous one being the fact that the report states the width of the opening at the bridge under the rail line is 5.5 metres when it is only 4.5 metres. Such an obvious error brings the whole document into question.
It is also disturbing to note that the draft amendment to the Glasgow and the Clyde Valley Structure Plan identifies Bishopton as an area for urban growth, based on the fact that it has "good transport links". Obviously this is another misconception being put about to support the developers plans to have this unwanted development foisted upon us. Hopefully the Scottish Executive will recognise these errors and advise the Scottish Ministers to reject the proposed amendment to the GCVSP. What is really needed is a proper review of the Local Plan.
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Radio Scotland - Expert Questions Development 30/10/06
Bishopton and BAG featured in a recent Radio Scotland program. The program was looking at brownfield development and considered the develpments at Ravenscraig and Bishopton. Expert, Dr Iain Docherty from Glasgow University, questioned whether politically driven decisions to regenerate brownfield sites were the right ones in terms of economics and environmental impact.
We at BAG have been raising this question all along, but it seemed to have fallen on deaf ears with the Structure Plan officials.
The common element to both of these developments is the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Structure Plan. Interestingly the complainants at Ravenscraig appeal claimed that it was "an abuse of the planning system". Having seen evidence that Structure Plan officials and Renfrewshire Council officials in 2003 were collaborating with the developers to push through the development using an outline planning application and thus denying the public right of appeal, we also claim that the planning process proposed for Bishopton is an abuse of the planning system. See FOI document
The complainants at Ravenscraig may have lost their appeal and the Structure Plan officials may be breathing a sigh of relief, but the Bishopton situation is a totally different ball game. We now have the white paper on modernising the planning system. This recognises that the community must have a say. There must be true consultation. Structure Plan officials may have thought that they had carte blanche because the development at Bishopton was a political decision, but those days are gone.
Given the expert's comments we leave you with this question:
Given all of the brownfield sites available in the Glasgow and Clyde Valley area, is it wise to create a 2500 house mixed use development on a site :-
The development at Bishopton ROF really does not make sense...except to the developers and their shareholders.
PS We note that as well as suffering from collective amnesia about access roads the developers appear to be delusional too with their comments about consultation and positive feedback from Bishopton residents.
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Motorway FOI Material Explodes Jobs Myth 1/11/2006 BAG has always queried the 3900 jobs propaganda regarding the proposed development at ROF. Well it seems that we are not the only ones. The Scottish Executive also think that it is unlikely and independent consultants think that it is unrealistic.
Through Freedom of Information we have obtained various reports from the Scottish Executive. These reports were produced in order to assess the STAG submission regarding motorway access at Bishopton. They make very interesting reading.
They raise some serious questions. For example: Has Renfrewshire Council ever commissioned any independent reports (apart from Envirocentre report which they ignored) or are they going to base their assessment of the outline planning application entirely on the evidence provided by the developers?
We have already proved that some information in the Transport Assessment was wrong and that the claim that 75% of site would be community woodland and open recreation area was wildly inaccurate...Is there a pattern developing here now that we can add the unlikely jobs total to the list?
Link to our FOI section where you can read the reports
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Explosive Stuff from Annabel Goldie 1/11/2006 Annabel Goldie MSP has submitted her objection to the Outline Planning Application for the Bishopton ROF development. It makes some very powerful points leaving Renfrewshire Council in no doubt that the way they have dealt with the planning process for Bishopton ROF is unacceptable. The shock waves from this letter will reach as far as the Scottish Ministers.
Ms Goldie has kindly given us permission to publish her objection letter on our web site. To view Ms Goldie's letter click here
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Renfrewshire Council - Credibility Problem 6/11/2006
Renfrewshire Council seems to have a credibility problem. On page 6 of the Gazette newspaper Renfrewshire Council states that no official could personally accept the letters of objection which were delivered by Bishopton Action Group, because they get thousands of comments and objections each year and they treat them all equally. On page 27 of the same newspaper in a Renfrewshire Council advert they state that because of the volume of objections received "Renfrewshire has decided not to acknowledge each letter individually, but to acknowledge receipt of letters of objection presented by the Bishopton Action Group on behalf of the respective signatories...through this notice".
So what happened to their claim that they treat them all equally?
Have a look at the following letter which was one of the letters delivered by BAG to Renfrewshire Council. Why should this well thought out letter not be properly acknowledged? View letter (23KB NB File is PDF format. You will require Adobe Reader to view letter) How does the author of this letter know that it has been received? The advert merely indicates that letters had been received, but the author has no way of knowing if his/her letter was actually received.
The Scottish Executive acknowledged each objection letter to the Structure Plan Alteration individually. Renfrewshire Council's approach is totally unsatisfactory.
This credibility problem stretches even further back. At public meetings in 2005 to discuss the proposed ROF development Renfrewshire Council officials stated that they had not up made their minds about the proposed development Bishopton ROF ....Then we discovered that they had been actively working with the developers to bring about this development (See previous FOI article - 2003 minutes of planning liaison meeting).
It is time for Renfrewshire Council to start treating Bishopton residents in an open and fair manner.
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Renfrewshire Council U-Turn 28/11/2006 Recently Renfrewshire Council stated that they would not individually acknowledge the objection letters delivered by Bishopton Action Group. They even contacted the Gazette and placed an advert to inform the public of this decision. However following an official complaint by BAG, Renfrewshire Council has performed a U turn and decided that it will now individually acknowledge all of the letters delivered by BAG. [Read official complaint here].
How did Renfrewshire Council get into this mess? Well it appears that when it comes to Bishopton, Renfrewshire Council makes the rules up as it goes along. If the officials fail to follow Council protocol, then problems occur.
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Renfrewshire Council Logic Problem 29/11/2006
By now many Bishopton residents will have received their acknowledgement letter from Renfrewshire Council and will have noted that Renfrewshire Council officials considered it a waste of resources to individually acknowledge their letters.
However if these same residents had posted these same objection letters instead of letting BAG deliver them, then Renfrewshire Council would not consider it a waste of resources to individually acknowledge these letters. Renfrewshire Council officials seem to have a problem with their logic. Yet again they do not seem to have thought things through.
Renfrewshire Council officials just don't seem to get it. Every objection must be treated equally and part of that process is to record and acknowledge all objections in the same manner regardless of the method of delivery. It also means that all objections should be given equal consideration. It is a sad reflection on the standards in Renfrewshire Council, when Bishopton Action Group has to make an official complaint in order to ensure that Renfrewshire Council follows its own policies and treats every objection equally.
Yet again Renfrewshire Council officials make up the rules as they go along.
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BAG Submits Detailed Objection 30/11/2006 On Monday BAG sumitted its objection to the outline planning application. Like the objection to the Structure Plan Alteration this is another weighty tome. It represents many weeks of hard work by dedicated individuals. We sincerely thank them all for their efforts.
We will be putting our full objection up on the website as soon as possible (space permitting) In the meantime read our updated background notes here
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BAG Wins Examination In Public 7/12/2006 The Scottish Ministers recently announced that there would be a public examination of the proposals for the redevelopment of the former Royal Ordnance Factory site, as defined in the Alteration to the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Structure Plan. At the public examination there will be an Independent Reporter who will seek answers to the following questions:
Read the official Scottish Executive press release here
We were delighted by this announcement. Bishopton Action Group has been working towards this goal for many months, keeping the Ministers informed of all our findings. We have always stated that the Structure Plan Alteration did not contain enough information to make an informed decision about the proposed development. It would appear that the Scottish Ministers agree.
Bishopton residents who objected to the Alteration to the Structure Plan have received a letter from the Scottish Executive titled "Examination in public of matters relating to the former royal ordnance factory site at Bishopton, Renfrewshire". It gives details of the two matters that will be discussed at the Examination, and a list of the groups that will be invited to speak. Included in the list are BAG and the Bishopton Community Council. We have checked the exact meaning of this letter with the Scottish Executive and can offer the following advice:
Bishopton Action Group has a lot of hard work ahead so that it can present the best possible case, but we will approach it in our usual methodical way researching our evidence and making use of all the resources available.
We would like to thank all those who have worked so hard to help us achieve our goal. It has been a fantastic team effort.
If you would like to make a donation to our fighting fund, please go to our home page and click on the Make a Donation button to donate online using PayPal or alternatively send a cheque (made payable to Bishopton Action Group) to The Treasurer, c/o Kilallan, Sachelcourt Ave, Bishopton PA7 5AA. We rely on donations to fund our fight. To give you an indication of the costs involved, our latest newsletter currently being distributed round the village cost £153. All donations will be very gratefully received.
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copyright: Bishopton Action Group || design and support from 3dc.org.uk via InBishopton.org.uk
