Monday 30 April 2012

AGM appoints new committee for 2012

Saturday's AGM appointed a new committee to lead BANG over the next year. The meeting also discussed priorities and ideas for action. A full account of the AGM is published on BANG's website, www.broomhillonline.org.uk.

Saturday 28 April 2012

Council Cabinet gives the green light to negotiations for a new Broomhill Library

The Council Cabinet last week gave the go-ahead for officers to enter into negotiations with a local property developer for a scheme to relocate the Broomhill Library to Willis House on Peel St. The scheme is still at a very early stage and there are a number of hurdles to overcome, not only to verify that the building is suitable, but also that the scheme is financially sound. It would involve transferring a number of assets to the developer in return for the lease of the space in Willis House. The Broomhill Forum have convened a library subgroup to look at these options and to consult with all community stakeholders concerned.

Secret Garden - must we do it ll again?

It seems that the sale of the Tapton Halls of Residence and Experimental Gardens site to Miller Homes may not now go ahead as the developer is getting cold feet over the project. If Miller Homes pull out the University intend to remarket the entire site to a new developer, who is likely to want to begin over with a new development scheme.
One might hope that the demise of the Miller Homes scheme would be an opportunity to do things better next time and to seriously consider alternatives for the site that might enable the community to realise our aspirations, while at the same time providing good value for the University. However there are no signs that the University are willing to consider their 'best value' responsibilities in anything other than purely financial terms. The uncertainty over the future of the site has even put our proposal to purchase Pisgah House as a community partnership on ice.
It is profoundly depressing to contemplate the prospect of fighting yet another inappropriate planning application for this site with a new developer. We can only hope that all the previous work that we have done has at least alerted the council planners to the importance of this site for our conservation area.