TWENTY THOUSAND POUND GRANT SECURED FOR FOOTPATH PROJECT

Thanks to the online votes of our members and supporters, we have been awarded one of the District Council's "£20k for 7" grants.

Claire Birch, Secretary and Elaine Robinson, Acting Chair collectied the Friends' "Golden Ticket" from Council Leader Richard Blunt at the awards ceremony on Wednesday 17th December 2014. See the photo on our Projects page

We still have to raise a further £25000 to make the footpath a reality and the Golden Ticket will only be honoured by the Council when our fund raising reaches another £20k. So the real challenge now begins.

We have recently begun the process of applying to the Heritage Lottery Fund for the rest of the money and will be meeting with them in the New Year to discuss our bid.

Royal Hotel Planning Application Approved

The plans to build the "leisure pavilion" (commercial development) on the rear of the Royal Hotel car park and the kiosk at he front of the carpark were approved by of the NWLDC planning committee on November 4th 2014. We opposed this Application because of the design and proposed use of the Pavilion and Kiosk though we have no objections to the much needed improvements to the hotel itself. These are long overdue and will enhance Ashby and the Conservation area.

Ashby Town Council Planning Committee objected to this applications on grounds of loss of open space and poor design. However when it came to the District Council Planning Committee, those members of Ashby Town Council who also sit on that Committee all voted in favour of the Royal Hotel Application.

Thankyou to our many supporters who lobbied the District Council Planning Committee and came along to the meeting. We must now work to ensure that the building work is completed as sympathetically as possible for the Bath Grounds with the best materials available. In particular we must ensure that the improvements to the Royal Hotel are actually implemented.

Oppose Pavilion Application at Planning Committee 4th November!

The Spaceship is Landing!

Planning application to be decided next week

Next Tuesday, 4th November, is decision day when the planning application for improvements to the Royal Hotel and new commercial buildings on the car park next to the hotel is due to be considered.

We are encouraging as many people as possible to come along to the meeting.

Our concerns centre on the planned 'pavilion', next to the Hotel and facing the Bath Grounds (shown above).

We have no objections to the proposed improvements and extension of the Royal Hotel itself as these are long overdue and will enhance Ashby and the Conservation area.

However, the proposed 'pavilion' is a substantial two storey building, with a larger footprint than the hotel itself, located in the conservation area, overlooking the Bath Grounds and between a pair of grade II* listed buildings.

• The design is wholly inappropriate for this very sensitive area;

• It will impact the character of the area due to its scale, proportions and massing;

• It has an imposing frontage on to the Bath Grounds;

• Important views within the conservation area will be lost;

• The proposed uses are contrary to planning policy;

• Car parking spaces for users of the Bath Grounds will be lost.

We are also concerned about the impact of the overall proposal on the Hastings Garden, where parking is planned. Little reassurance has been given about continued access by the public and the impact on trees in the area.

The application will be considered by the District Council planning committee on Tuesday 4th November, at the council offices in Coalville starting at 4:30pm. It's first on the agenda so you won't need to be there for too long!

Thank you for your time and support. Hope to see you on Tuesday.