We have requested that if the Planning Case Officer is minded to refuse planning permission for the Englishcombe Inn site for a new 40-bed Care Home, then the application should be heard in public by the Development Control Committee.

Legally, to request this we had to give planning reasons for our request; and these were:

* This is an imaginative reuse of a derelict facility and adds economic vitality to the area;
* The plan, whilst bulky, pays respect to the existing structure whilst using the contour of the land in an imaginative and bold
way to provide the facilities needed for the proposed client groups.
* The application will generate far less traffic onto the busy Englishcombe Lane than other applications such as for housing and
the precedent for density set just a few hundred yards away at Sabin Close.

We also wrote that the applicant has met with residents and listened to their concerns and made modifications that meet most demands. Obviously, the loss of the building as a pub will not suite those who wish to see it returned to being a public house.

The final decision on whether or not to hear the planning application at the democratic public meeting will be made by the Chair of the Committee, Cllr Les Kew (Conservative, High Littleton).

We now await the decision of the Council Officer and the Chair of the Committee.