Grove Airfield Given the Go Ahead

Last night I attended the Planning Committee held in Grove Parish Church to discuss the Grove Airfield development as previously flagged here.  The church was full with at least 100 people in attendance, and there were 12 of us on the list of objectors to the proposal.  I had to share a 20 minute slot along with several others, but thankfully by going first, was able to make sure all my main points were made in the first 3 minutes!  I had hoped that as an elected County Councillor, I would have been given my own time, but sadly  this is not within the Vale's constitution.

The committee agreed to permit the development subject to a £49 million package of Section 106 agreements (developer contributions) and a whole list of conditions attached to ensure that the infrastructure is provided in a timely fashion.  The village will only be able to cope with such a huge housing development if roads, schools, leisure and community facilities are all provided alongside families moving onto the site.  There will be a huge challenge ahead to make sure this happens and it is not going to be easy.  

When the building starts, there will be disruption for years, and it will change the face of Grove as a village.  The hard work to manage all this is only just beginning and there will be many key people involved.  There is going to be a Project Delivery Board set up to deal with this, so it will be vital that residents get what they have been promised and deserve.