Residents who are following the progress of the Clay Cross Town Deal may remember that, back in the Autumn, there was an unnecessary argument about the proposed regeneration of the town centre when the Labour Party split up, and tried to removal, part of the regeneration proposals for the town (see DT article here from last October).
The disagreement also centred upon whether one part of the regeneration proposal for the town centre - which was to provide direct parking access from Derby Road off of High Street - should be included or not. Taken alongside everything else that is happening (the new town centre at Broadleys, the pedestrianisation of part of Market Street, the reopening of Bridge Street), myself and Cllrs Charlotte Cupit and Jess Stokes all think it is important to support the request of local businesses to have a place where their customers can park - and, in particular, can easily park coming in from the south of the town).
If this access isn't provided then people who are driving in from Stretton would have to drive through the town and double-back on themselves in order to find a parking space near the shops on Market and High Street - something that should be avoided. For reasons that the Labour Party still haven't explained, they weren't keen on this and tried to stop it back in the Autumn.
After a long discussion at Town Board, and the support of independent members of the board, we managed to override the Labour group and get approval to submit a planning application to the Planning Committee. That application goes to Committee today and the good news is that the planning officers at the Council (who are the experts in planning) are recommending approval of the application. We agree - and that's why we hope the Planning Committee will pass it today.
I've written to the Planning Committee this morning to restate my support for the proposal and I know Charlotte and Jess are both supportive, too. You can find my letter here.
The Planning Committee have an opportunity to do a good thing for Clay Cross today - given the recommendation to approve from the officers, there's no reason not to do so. Let's hope they put politics aside, and listen to local businesses, and vote to support the full regeneration of Clay Cross today.