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Linden Homes managed to build the new village car park to a design which was not in accordance with the planning approvals and while we can see how they ended up in this position (the slope on the ground meant that ramps, steps and other detail was required) the layout we had was not going to work.

EHDC and Local Councillors have been chasing Linden Homes for some time now to get a revised set of plans that we felt were acceptable. Over this period there have been several iterations of revised design and while it has been far to slow to get to this point, Linden Homes have, to be fair, been committed to taking all of our comments on board to try to reach a layout that meets with our approval.

There are a very large number of improvements.

1. The 4 trees that were squeezed in between the parking spaces were removed some weeks ago and the final layout will include 2 trees in the car park area where cars will not be damaged, as well as 4 large planters in front of the Spar, and trees 2 more trees either side of Nash Hall (6 in total).
2. The steps by the SPAR entrance are going and being replaced with two less visually intrusive islands which will give better access to the new surgery and Spar.
3. The perimeter wall looks very ‘municipal’. It is being considerably reduced in height and rebuilt with flint infill panels to match some of the surrounding buildings and give a more traditional look.
4. The railings on the wall was going and being replaced with a wrought iron style picket fencing.
5. The steps by the old post office will be replaced with a ramp to better help disabled access, or those with buggies.
6. Benches, bins, cycle hoops and bollards are going to be installed so there is proper provision for litter and general use.
7. The general quality is going up. The tarmac to the road side was supposed to be block paving so it being put in as the approved plans. A cobble strip is missing to the car park entrance and will be installed.

Parking is also important. In addition to the 23 spaces in the car park the surgery has a further 6 spaces to the read of the building making 29 spaces in total. At the moment the car park is not being managed so is causing problems but a new ‘2 hour no return in 1 hour’ limit will be coming in soon. This will free up spaces being blocked by residents and linden homes’ contractors.

To view the full sized plan click on this link here: Gales Car Park Revised Layout September 2015

This is being treated as a formal planning application (an 8 week process) and if approved we will be expecting Linden Homes to carry it out quickly.