Campaigning for the Orchard area as a Local Green Space

In 2017 we celebrated after we received confirmation from the Council that The Orchard, Broadmoor Lane (PMP Ref: LGB66) has been designated as a Local Green Space in the B&NES Placemaking Plan for 2015-2035. Thank you to everyone who supported this successful campaign!

***

March 2015: We have applied to B&NES Council to designate the land at the Orchard, Broadmoor Lane as a Local Green Space and thereby protect it from further development.

The Council are working on a Placemaking Plan for allocating housing development. This presents the opportunity for residents’ associations in Bath to identify green areas of particular importance to them for special protection through designation in the Placemaking Plan. Once designated, these open spaces will have a level of protection similar to Green Belt, and will not be open to development except in very special circumstances.

The land at the Orchard, Broadmoor Lane has been used extensively by our community for many years. The space hosts community events including Apple Day, Wassailing and May Day celebrations. Individuals and families regularly use this area for recreation such as dog-walking, berry-picking and playing. The land is presently owned by developers.

Let’s finish what was started in the 1990s with the campaign to save the Orchard from development, and act now to preserve the present open space boundaries for generations to come.

In order to designate this land as a Local Green Space, we have to provide evidence to the Council that the land is “demonstrably special” to the local community and holds particular significance, for example because of its beauty, recreational value, tranquillity or richness of its wildlife.

Many thanks to all 220 people who completed an evidence questionnaire to help demonstrate the value of this space to our community. The Council will now be assessing all the Local Green Space applications and we expect them to undertake a site visit in March/April. A draft Placemaking Plan is anticipated in Autumn 2015 in which everyone in the district will have the opportunity to make comments.

An electronic copy of our application to the Council to have the Orchard designated as a Local Green Space is available here.