Second Meeting of the Caldecote Community Liaison Group took place online a few days ago. The meeting was lively with three representatives of one developer attending and none from the other.
Meeting Agenda
The Liaison group meeting took place on 20th January 2021. The agenda for the meeting is
- Welcome & Apologies
- Actions arising from last meeting
- Developers update
- Community update
- Future work plans
- AOB
- Closing
The meeting attendance is as follows:
- district councillor (I chaired the meeting)
- parish council chairperson Helen Cartwright
- one other parish councillor and the parish clerk,
- two planning officers,
- two Enforcement officers,
- one south cambs community officer
- three Balfour Beatty representatives
Meeting Notes
There was no one from Linden Homes at the meeting. Previous Project manager had left and new one unaware of the meeting. However, the items of concern relating to their building site will be sent to them for action. We will also follow up.
The meeting focussed on the myriad of issues raised regarding the Balfour Beatty (BB) Grafton Drive development.
Discharge of Planning Conditions
1. Discharge of conditions: Balfour Beatty (BB) submitted several discharge requests in one application. This includes information that is sufficient to discharge all but 2 conditions. However, there are two outstanding conditions on Surface Water and Ecology that still require further information. BB expect to submit the additional information in the next week, after which Planning will carry out the prescribed 14 day consultation on those two conditions, and thereafter be in a position to deal with the application and sign off.
2. On the basis of the above, the officers considered it was unreasonable to prevent work on site when most except 2 out of 10 conditions submitted were satisfactory. Hence the decision was taken to allow Balfour Beatty to continue to work on the site, and take no enforcement action to stop construction of houses.
A planning inspector would have found against the council if stop notice was issued and appealed.
3. Construction work is on schedule, show home is now being built, footings being put in and Balfour Beatty still anticipate site build will finish in August 2024. BB when asked if they had had any issues with the community claimed there were the “occasional” issues but nothing difficult!
Community Issues
5. Use of Banksman: Heated discussion on this. Balfour Beatty insisted they use Banksman, but had just one. They have tried using the banksman to walk the delivery vehicle up Grafton Drive but had issues with leaving the junction with Highfields Road unmanned and consequence of another vehicle coming up unaccompanied. I saw one incident of no banksman, taken a photo and had reported to Andy the site manager immediately.
They now use the method of keeping the banksman at the junction with a walkie-talkie which is then used to alert the site when a delivery vehicle is being sent up and the site to alert the banksman when it is going back down Grafton Drive. This option is what the community is seeing as there is no banksman with the vehicle.
Balfour Beatty claim this is the better option, because the vehicle is travelling very slowly anyway and unlikely to cause a problem. I insisted it was not working for the community. I have instructed and they have agreed to review it in the light of the transport management plan that was agreed for the construction work.
6. Wheel washing and mud on road: Another heated discussion. BB say there’s sometimes “a bit of mud” on the road, that they have a wheel washer and use a road sweeper three times a week. The mud spatters on cars they claim is left over water in the vehicles shaking out as they drive down the road! BB claim the wheel washing facility is on their land at the front of the site. I requested they increase the road sweeping from 3 days a week to every day of the week they are on site. Also to improve their wheel washing so all mud is removed before vehicles go out of the site.
7. Deliveries before 9.30am: BB claim this happened once, and dealt with it. We discussed the stacking of lorries on Highfields Road not been conducive, and asked them to work with their suppliers to stagger deliveries so no stacking is needed. Apparently the delivery drivers are supposed to call the site 15 minutes before arrival but it does not always happen.
I emphasised it was their problem to deal with and that if stacking is needed, to use the layby at the top of the village, not Highfields Road.
8. Parking on Grafton Drive: BB claim they have instructed all their subcontractors not to park on Grafton Drive and not ware of any unauthorised parking. So if residents notice any of that happening, to note the details of the vehicle and/or take a picture and notify the site manager immediately.
9. Contractor vehicles damaging residents vehicle: Balfour Beatty clarified that this incident occurred without their knowledge. Apparently the contractor road sweeper caused the accident. The driver realised only after getting back to their own depot and checked the video recording did the company realised what had happened and informed BB. All sorted very quickly after that. But we made the point that should it ever happen again, to ensure it is reported.
10. Restoration of Grafton Drive. Balfour Beatty state that they have a fund set aside for this, which they will do after all the construction work is completed. BB has done a survey of the road before construction work started, so they know what they need to restore it to after construction is finished.
11. Strip of land between 15-18 and their site: There will be no strip. The gardens of the properties backing on to that fence will extend to the fence. The fence is the boundary line of their site. I have asked BB to provide me with a copy of the plans approved for them to which they are working so that I can make this available and all parties know and have the right information.
12. Strip of land near No.19: That belongs to No.19, and will be retained by that property, not Balfour Beatty
13. Variety of other issues – equipment over hydrants, warning signs on deep excavations – not to do with them but like Utilities providers (phone, fibre, gas etc.), and it is their responsibility to ensure they operate safely.
Anticipated Works affecting the community
14. Future work that may affect residents: There are two potential works that are coming
a. Upgrade of the gas mains on Grafton Drive in February
b. Improvement to the footpath on Highfields Road in Spring.
Balfour Beatty will alert us in good time closer to the scheduled works, so we can let the residents know. They will also try to arrange leaflet drop of some sort.
Appeal to Grafton Drive residents
The plea to Grafton Drive residents is that if you see an incident occurring that should not be happening, please record it and/or take photos, and report immediately to the Site Manager Andy Pates. His contact number is apparently on a notice on the gates to the site. Please don’t leave issues to fester. If Balfour Beatty are “not listening”, or don’t deal with the matter, then please report to Helen Cartwright the Parish Council chair or to me. We then can take immediate action on your behalf.
Reminder – The purpose of the Liaison Group meetings is to help with issues that may arise between Community and Developers during the period they are on site, so that problems can be resolved quickly. We are here to help, but cannot do so if we do not know about the problem. Please use this resource that the District Council has made available to help the community during this time.
Regarding Linden Homes, the same applies. Helen and I, have had occasion to contact the site manager on contraventions that residents reported to us and he has been very swift to deal with them.
Thank you. Please share this article with those who have an interest in this matter