We thought we'd introduce you to a few more of our more unusual supporters. This campaign is trying to turn us all into Town and Country Planners...and we wanted to lighten the mood before asking for your commitment to follow through and make a formal objection against this application to West Dorset District Council. Over 1100 people have signed this petition online and on paper but so far only 41 of us have made an official objection (including us lot!). Let's make it 100 or more by the time the window for comments closes this Thursday. You can do it online, and we've pasted some guidance and bullet points on which you can base your comments below. We're asking you for 10 minutes of your time so that we can finally knock this application out the meadow. Best wishes Ged, Wendy, Toni and Rich for Friends of Asker Meadows Guidance for commenting on planning application. How: • Online: at http://bit.ly/23agzXQ . At the bottom the page there is a small button, ‘Make a comment.’ • By email: planning@west-dorset-dc.gov.uk • In writing: Robert Burden, Development Services, South Walks House, South Walks Road, Dorchester DT1 1UZ • Include the planning reference number: WD/D/16/000550 • Concentrate on planning issues, but also OK to make this personal to you. Suggestions below: What: • The field in question is in a designated Local Nature Reserve (LNR), protected by Schedule 11(12) of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006. The application ignores the fact that the field is in a LNR. Asker Meadows was designated a reserve in 2004. (Then called Asker’s Meadow). • The Asker Meadows Nature Reserve is protected by the West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland Local Plan, adopted in October 2015. Policies ENV1 (Landscape and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), ENV2 (Wildlife and Habitats) and ENV3 (Green Infrastructure) apply to this field. • This application ignores and violates the purpose, in law, of a Local Nature Reserve to ‘manage land for conservation and recreation’* (within the LNR). The principal aim is to ‘maintain and enrich the characteristic wildlife and natural features’* of the LNR. How is the use for parking for the town centre in keeping with this legal designation? (* Local Nature Reserves in England, Natural England, 2010) • The application is described as ‘temporary’ but this is not defined. Although the word ‘temporary’ is used there is nothing in the application which describes the use as such. The application is for three months use on Saturdays, and an unspecified number of festivals, for an indefinite period. • There are six protected species that live on or visit the site: water vole, otter, kingfisher, firecrest, great northern diver and noctule bat. These are fully protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Two of the birds, the kingfisher and the great northern diver, are on the EU Red list of birds which are in danger of extinction. The otter is also a European Protected species. • The application, if passed, will result in an increased footfall of 2-300 people. These will be using the Nature Reserve as a thoroughfare, not to visit it, and the disturbance of wildlife during the breeding season. • The application has been inappropriately combined with an application for a classroom. This is broadly in keeping with the educational and open air recreation objectives of the reserve. We question the use of a dilapidated portacabin for this purpose, or its use as a ticket office for events. • The application does not form part of a strategy to sustainably manage visitors to town. It is based on a rush to find parking for summer 2016, and the expediency that the Town Council own the land. • The application grossly understates the visual and physical impact of parking on the LNR and Conservation Area. The 100 cars parked will be clearly visible from the entire LNR. Any kind of dampness of the ground will lead to damage of the grassland by cars and footfall. The housing adjoining the LNR is in a Conservation Area, which legislates against impact on ‘the setting’ of buildings within it and current local policy for this quadrant is to ‘preserve and seek to improve the character of the riverbank and its role in the setting of the Sub-Area.’ (Policy 1.4.1 i), Bridport Conservation Area Appraisal 2010). • The application is partly the result of a disproportionate influence of two groups, the Tourism Association (TA) and Bridport Chamber of Trade and Commerce (BCTT). Of a recent list of TA 63 members are listed, only 10 of these retail in Bridport. BCTC has approx. 60 members. Of the 17 in the public domain, only 3 retail in Bridport. In contrast, many smaller shopkeepers and stallholders, including some members of both associations, have signed the Friends of Asker Meadows petition against the use of this field for parking. • In contrast, there is huge opposition to this proposal from residents and visitors. Over 1100 residents and visitors have signed a petition against the use of this field. This vastly exceeds the small numbers of in-town retailers who are known to support the scheme. If you are interested, you can view and interactive map of the Local Plan here. Search for ‘askers meadow’: http://bit.ly/20n18Ll You can download a copy of Natural England’s guidance for Local Nature reserves here: http://bit.ly/1U6Fy9b