The original proposals were for a supermarket, but by the time these were submitted Government Policy had changed to a presumption against development of out of town shopping. Although such a scheme would have been very good for the Trust in the value of ‘Planning Gain’ I would have extracted, it would not have presented the most desirable start to the Canal!

Having abandoned the supermarket plans, attention turned to developing the site for residential use. Potentially this presented a much better prospect from the visual perspective for this key site on the Canal. It would, however, yield considerably less for the site owners, and hence less of an opportunity for restoring the Canal etc. The original plans for 44 houses were very disappointing in not integrating the Canal into the development so in our normal manner I started redesigning it! The Local Authority also objected to various aspects of the layout, and over many months the plans were constantly revised. In parallel a constant dialogue continued as to the extent and nature of the ‘Planning Gain’ that would be appropriate in relation to the Canal.

Eventually a revised Application for 33 houses was submitted, which achieved nearly as much as could be expected for a ‘boxes off the shelf’ development. Although the TBC’s Officers supported this Application (as did the Trust - but with reservations on layout, which would be determined later), it was refused by the Planning Committee. In due course an Appeal was lodged.

The site had by now reverted to the Secretary of State for Health and the original layout was replaced with one by landscape consultants to focus on overcoming visual impact objections. This resulted in a new Application for 34 houses that utilised the Canal as a focal point at the heart of the development. It replaced a standard boxes, off the shelf,’ development with one carefully designed to maximise the potential of the Canal and blend the development into the landscape.

Again, this second Application was supported by TBC’s Officers and the Trust, but rejected by the Planning Committee. It was added to the existing Appeal. We were given 4 weeks during the Inquiry to conclude the s.106 Agreement to secure the Planning Gain for the benefit of the Trust. This is where the real negotiating started; although all parties had set out over the years what would/should be on the table, it all had to be renegotiated in these 4 weeks!

Negotiations were hectic to say the least! What may appear to be the most simple things like the definition of the fill in the Canal, can involve hours of negotiation, and may not appear important, but is the difference between disposing of all the fill on site or having to take it off site at a cost of tens of thousands of pounds to the Trust.

On the penultimate day the Agreement was finally complete, as a result of both sides working late into many evenings (and some of us working right through the night!). The Agreement had been produced in different parts of the country, and so as the final day (a Wednesday) came, both parts of the Agreement were brought by motor cycle courier to Tewkesbury for the Trust and TBC to sign. Brian Fox (the Trust’s chairman) was working at Oxenhall, so I collected him from there and we both went to Tewkesbury to sign the Agreement. Whilst we were en route the Mayor of Tewkesbury was called in from home to sign on behalf of the Council. Once we had all signed, the courier took the Agreement straight back to Bristol for the Secretary of State for Health to sign. Over 5 years of hard work finally complete, now all we had to do was hope the Inspector found in favour of the development so the Agreement would be activated (and binding on all future owners).

Or so we all thought, but upon arriving home disaster had struck. The Secretary of State for Health had refused to sign. Why? Because it was a Wednesday, and he only signed Agreements on Thursdays! A 24 hour extension to the deadline was granted and the signed Agreement delivered the next day.

Well the next day when the decision letter arrived it was clear the Inspector had thought we had. He had taken considerable note of the content of the Agreement and the benefits it presented, and made clear he had also placed weight upon the Canal Trust’s support for critical aspects of the Developer’s proposals.

It commits the Trust to excavate the line of the Canal which is back filled to a depth of 4m; to construct more than 75m of brand new wharf wall; to construct a new overflow weir and discharge channel to the River Leadon; to construct a new pumping station and abstraction channel to provide a water supply from the River Leadon; and to create a surfaced towpath. The major catch is that the Trust has only 9 months to complete the work that we have committed ourselves to, and that it is up to the Developer to decide when he gives us 3 months notice that we should start work.

Footnote 1: it has since been decided that the Lock Cottage is in too poor a state of repair to restore. Instead, the developers will provide us with the shell of a new Visitor Centre and we will be responsible for fitting out the interior.
Footnote 2: the site has been bought by Swan Hill Homes.