LOST: The way it was in 2012 when
HM The Queen visited this venue
Rangers’ Centre to be extended on “Queen’s Meadow”
It has been made public today (5 January 2019) that the “so-called” Rangers’ Centre building is to be extended. When the planning application for the original building was mooted in 2010, the council argued that the Rangers’ were badly in need of a proper facility to conduct their work. This was how they ‘sold’ the project to the public. When the building was opened it became clear that the Rangers would only inhabit a small proportion of the building and that the rest would be for a commercial cafeteria. Now this part of the building is to be extended (52.3 square metres) with the loss of even more of the open space once so attractive (see picture below).
Queen’s historic Jubilee venue marred by Council’s cynical Planning changes and broken promises VIEW
What’s been lost on Queen’s Meadow as a result? VIEW
Council flout public opinion to build Rangers’ Centre on this meadow and remove six trees featured in winning GB and Ireland photo of 2013
Whether or not you might or might not support this new development, the public, as a whole, need to be aware of South Somerset District Council’s devious and underhand handling of development of this site since 1989. You may say ‘I don’t care’ but consider this: The way in which the council deal with planning affects everyone In South Somerset. They have proved they are impervious to planning rules which they purport to uphold. This could affect you wherever you live in South Somerset. So what are the facts that show this? You will find, within this website, extensive details of SSDC’s reproachable antics but below are listed some key points:
1988 - The Western Gazette reports that SSDC affirms once Goldenstones is built no more of the open space at Ninesprings would be built upon.
2010 - Despite the above, SSDC make an application (through one of their employees) for a ‘Rangers Hut’ on the open space we call Queen’s Meadow. The ‘hut’ is actually 159 square metres!
2012 - SSDC Planners reject the Rangers’ plan to build the Cafe and Rangers facility 100m to the west of the current location because they say underground electricity pipes would prevent it despite Watchdog informing the council these pipes were redundant.
2014 - SSDC grants ‘its own’ planning application and develops 159.2 sq metres of open land in Ninesprings building a Cafe and Rangers facility.
2014 - The building now completed, the CEO of SSDC writes admitting Watchdog was correct to claim that the electricity pipes were, in fact, redundant
2014 - After completion of the Rangers facility and Cafeteria we could assess whether SSDC met the specifications of their own Planning application. They had reneged on their basic proposal, emphasised to persuade and console, that the building would be eco-friendly - assurances of a ‘Green Hub’ incorporating:
Straw bale walls - concrete blocks were used.
Roof Tiles - Changed to concrete - 25 June 2014
Landscaping & tree replacement - none to date.
The Bottom Line
Our conclusion is that South Somerset District Council cannot be trusted with local planning. The Council were determined to build here despite several viable alternative sites being available within the 127 acres of Ninesprings. SSDC planners failed to research fully the Rangers' own preferred site; failure to know whether electricity pipework was redundant on land THEY owned showed their incompetence. Further development of Queen’s Meadow was postulated by Watchdog (2010-2014) at SSDC public meetings. We foresaw in 2010 that, once light industrial planning was passed by SSDC for the Rangers’ Centre, eventually the whole of Queen’s Meadow could be developed commercially. So this is now beginning. This website charts Watchdog’s fruitless 4-year battle (with a council that promised in 1988 not to build here) to save ‘Queen’s Meadow’ for posterity and exposes SSDC’s authoritarian and underhand planning practises.
