A few local residents got together this week, and considered how we might best make our thoughts known on the proposed EF Language School development. We have yet to find any local resident who is anything other than opposed to the introduction of residential accommodation, the scale of the redevelopment and the appearance of the building. One of our local councillors, Jean Swanson, is recommending that we petition for a Development Control Forum, a meeting where “petitioners can present their views to councillors, planning officers and the applicant some weeks before a planning application is finally determined. The aim of the forum is to allow early discussion of the planning issues raised by petitioners and to explore the scope for building consensus and for resolving concerns. It is an informal meeting and the forum does not determine the application”.
We duly draw up a petition and get it signed by a few dozen local residents on Cavendish Avenue and Hills Road. The majority of these close residents had no idea that the plans had been made, thanks to the tiny number of city residents who’d been officially informed.