Forum for residents of St Georges Park and Long Leys Road Lincoln

[iggy]

im told tenders out 09 and it will start straight after tenders back

[deb]

Sounds right -they thought full planning would take a while.

[john shipton]

Hello everyone:

Had a word with Committee Admin yesterday about the planning application concerning Yarborough Court and it was heard and discussed at City Hall on Wednesday evening, 5th March.
The planning application was approved at the Planning meeting on Wednesday.
I have requested a copy of the minutes to be sent to me. They have yet to be typed out. Committee Admin are sending me a copy ASAP.
Then once received, I will give them to Deborah.

[deb]

Thanks John, can you request an email copy too then we can mail to anyone interested, or post relevant bits?

[bear]

Could a copy of the minutes be attached to this thread when received please?

Not looking forward to living next to a building site for the next 2 years! am also worried about how this is going to affect my house price as I would have wanted to move on around 2010. Although appreciate these are not terms on which you can object to the planning application.

the car park not being locked is a worry to me. I know people who have had problems with boy racers when they have lived next to open car parks. Out of curiosity do we have this problem on the current St Georges hospital site?

I'm not sure what the procedure is next about my letter of 'concern' re: planning application, does anybody actually address the specific points I raised? Or does it just get put in an envelope labelled 'objections no reply needed' ?

[deb]

Cllr Karen Lee was in contact Saturday about the proposed play areas for the kids and she has said she will forward an email copy of the minutes when they come out. May be a couple of weeks as she is going on holiday, but of course John may get them.

Re. boy racers, I haven't heard any trouble but because it's a residential facility there are always cars parked there so it's never empty. The only 'speed' postings were complaints about people on the estate but the bumps have probably helped that.

Re. replies to your planning concerns, I don't think they are directly replied to but queries at the two open evenings were. However, both the hospital and planners have been very helpful so ask your questions. I assume you have email contacts if you need them , otherwise I can get them for you.

[deb]

Minutes from the meeting forwarded by Cllr Lee today. I have only included the hospital bit as lots more applications were considered. For those interested I would draw your attention to the conditions on which planning was granted. I have already asked Lichfield Planning for further detail on what these actually mean in terms of the plans that were made available and on which objections were made. I will post the reply:

PLANNING COMMITTEE 5 MARCH 2008

Present: Councillor Denman (in the Chair).

Councillors: Brothwell, Clark, P.Grice, Hewson, Kerry, Lee, C.Metcalfe, West and Woolley,

134. MINUTES

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 13 February 2008 be confirmed.

135. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Councillor R Hills declared a personal interest in relation to Minute Number 137, as he was an employee of the NHS Trust.


137. APPLICATION FOR DEVELOPMENT
YARBOROUGH COURT, ST GEORGES HOSPITAL, LONG LEYS ROAD
APPLICATION NO: 2007/0938/O

The Director of Development and Environmental Services

(a) stated that this was an outline planning application for the erection of a part single and part two-storey building to accommodate expanded health facilities with associated car parking

(b) provided details of the policies pertaining to the application:

• PPS1: Delivering Sustainable Development
• Policy 34: Design and Amenity Standards
• Policy 86B: Extension of Existing Community Facilities

(b) outlined responses made to the consultation exercise

(c) gave details of the issues raised by this proposal as follows:

• Development Plan Allocation
• Effect on Residential Amenity
• Access
• Effect on Visual Amenity

(e) advised that he had now received comments from the Highways Authority to the effect that they were happy with the proposal subject to satisfactory conclusion of a S106 Agreement in relation to a footpath condition

(f) reported that that the application proposed the development and redevelopment of rehabilitation facilities at St George’s hospital and had been made in outline form with access only to be considered

(g) concluded that he considered the principal of extending hospital facilities at this site was appropriate and complied with local and national policy and that the indicative plans showed that a building could be accommodated on the site without harming residential amenity and therefore the proposal would be in accordance with policy.

Phil Scrafton, representing Lichfield Planning, the Agent for the application, addressed the Committee and raised the following points in support of the proposal:

• This was an outline planning application.
• Existing facilities needed to be replaced.
• Studies had highlighted that Lincoln should provide mental health facilities as the centre of an Urban Area.
• Current sites should not be ‘decanted’.
• Accommodation was needed at single storey level for reasons of accessibility.
• Feasibility studies had been conducted and a preferred option identified, followed by a consultation process, resulting in the plans being revised accordingly.
• Concerns re landscaping – there was the opportunity for tree planting and he hoped that liaison with local residents would allow a mutual agreement to be reached in this respect.

Members discussed the application in further detail.

(Councillor K Lee requested that the following points be recorded:

1. The Director of Development and Environmental Services confirmed that residents of Long Leys Road had been consulted on this application

2. Councillor Lee raised the issue of sustainability in the vicinity of the development as she felt that housing was being built in the area without the necessary services to support it)

RESOLVED that officers be delegated to grant the application subject to conditions relating to:

• Layout
• Scale
• Appearance
• Landscaping
• Restrictions on height of the development
• S106 contribution towards provision of a footpath.

[deb]

Reply from Lichfield Planning re, 'The Conditions' quoted above:

"Planning permission was granted for the principle of development on receipt of the signed legal agreement (section 106) which will mean the Trust will contribute £10,000 to the upgrading of the footpath from Higson Road.

The conditions require that further and final details relating to the scale, appearance landscaping and layout must be submitted and approved prior to any works commencing on site. Local people will be consulted on those details as and when the application is submitted. The final condition relates to development being no more than two storeys in height."

As you may remember, the County were to pay for the footpath to Higson Road to get it going and City would pay their portion back to them. This is obviously where their portion is coming from

[bear]

Hi Deb

Thanks for this.

Do you have the email address for Phil Scrafton? I think I will contact him just to register my interest re: conditions. Don't want to miss out on any consultations in the future.

[iggy]

after sitting through the farce of a planning meeting on Monday night my advice to you is don't worry about about a thing involving LICHFIELD OR LINCOLN CITY PLANNING AS THERE NOT WORRED ABOUT YOU properly the whole scheme will change like it did at the planning meeting about the grave yard with the council compulsory purchasing somebody's house to put a new road into the site or simply add a few more floors as most things lichfield are involved in see the brayford area has 9 to 15 floors in it
i worry about the planning process at city hall as it seams all you do is as with the house / grave yard and possibly the hospital you sketch what you think you want then get ** add in major changes to it after it is in the planning meeting and the public can not comment on it . also as it has not have appeared on any other information put before the committee so it may just slip through ** planning permission. then forget all about it do what you want then re apply if you tell a few little * white ones * along the way you will be OK

1

[john shipton]

Hi everyone...

Iggy and others have been mentioning about the planning processes at Lincoln City Council.
This will interest those wishing to know how companies can manipulate planning applications, especially in the city of Lincoln.
Going back a few years, prospective landlords from all over the UK began to use local estate agents in Lincoln to put leaflets through the letter boxes of householders living in the West End. Then they targeted the Monks Road area then later the rest of Lincoln like roads nearto the High Street which had a density of houses.
Some of these landlords operated from London.
Then the TV programme on Channel 4 called Location, Location, Location did a specific programme on Lincoln saying that this was the city to invest in regarding property. They used the University of Lincoln as their masterplan regarding investment. The presenters produced figures about the increasing rise of the student population who wanted privately rented accommadation in the city. This was the start when householders sold their properties to these landlords using the estate agents.
Before I moved onto the Urban Village, my family used to live in Derwent Street which is on the other side of the West Common. My house in Derwent Street, in part exchange, was sold eventually by Westbury using an estate agent to a family. Since then the property was sold to a landlord who uses the premises for students accommodation. Both houses either side are used for student accommodation.
But since purposely built student accommodation as sprung up on the University Campus and in and around the Brayford Pool, the demand of private student accommodation has decreased. Throughout the West End particulary, there are houses which were bought for student accommodation have vacant and residents can see the many FOR RENT (student accommodation) and FOR SALE signs which have ben put up by estate agents.
The bubble has burst regarding student accommodation.
But a problem began to occur regarding student accommodation whereby landlords were cramming students into their properties. Overcrowding was appearing in these type of properties. But due to demand then, City Hall was powerless to act. They could only use Health and Safety Regulations as and when. Another problem was enforcement. Also many landlords were not bothering to register themselves with Lincoln University.
Todate this has changed due to government legislation. For many landlord properties can only have five students per household. These properties are called HIMOS.
There is a company called APS Property Group who have become the largest landlord in the city of Lincoln for student accommodation. They bought up properties all over the city. With student accommodation they operate as Club Easy. One can see their vans driving in and around Lincoln used for maintenance of their properties. They own for example Holmes Wharf which is the nine storey building by the Brayford Bridge.
Now APS bought up certain properties on West Parade, Hewson Road and Carholme Road. This is going back a few years. They altered these properties and allowed an abundance of students to occupy them. One coverted hotel which faced West Parade was in contention and when APS applied for planning permission to make further alterations, the Planning Committee at City Hall refused it. Planning permission was also refused on their properties on Hewson Road and Carholme Road.
APS appealled against these decision. The appeal was heard at the former Methodist Church Hall on Hamilton Street, off the parties concerned.
A few months later after consideration and deliberation, a decision was made by the Planning Inspectorate. The decision went against APS. Conditions were also made about the satuaration point of turning the West End into a student ghetto. This was in favour of City Hall and the West End Residents' Association. Another major decision was that east side of the West End and what was then the area of Carholme Ward, was the limitation of private rented accommodation on Newland where landlords were considering buying up properties.
Now APS/Club Easy bought up a huge property on the junction of Newland and The Avenue. It is opposite Viking House.
This property was owned by a chartered accountant business which moved elsewhere. APS/Club Easy used this as their head office and the condition was for office use.
Now what did Club Easy do (which is part of APS)in dealing with student accommodation issue? They converted the flats and part of the property into student accommodation. They did not inform City Council but were caught out by the ward councillors and WERA.
Then they applied for RETROSPECTIVE planning permission for what they did.
It appears that the decision by the Planning Inspectorate has been disgarded for the retrospective planning application was granted by the Planning Committee.
And this should be noted...
Having attended the Planning Committee last night with other local residents, planning issues have become a fiasco and Baker's Field has been rushed through whatever explanations/excuses Lincoln City Council may give.
As I have explained above, planning regulations are in a mess. For retrospective planning applications have become the norm. Firms now build whatever or make conversions, then apply later and, what happens - they are passed!

Bear wanted to contact Phil Scrafton. Here is the address to send your correspondence to..
Lichfield Planning Consultants,
26 Westgate,
Lincoln, LN1 3BD.
Telephone number is 01522 546483.

[john shipton]

This story was received this morning.
So please be aware of words being used by the NHS to describe patients.
Came from a former mental health nurse who retired after working in the care in the community environment.

Multiple rapist escaped hospital because staff couldn't interpret politically-correct letter
Last updated at 23:07pm on 11th April 2008 - Daily Mail


A serial rapist escaped from a hospital for the second time in three years because the politically-correct jargon used to describe him failed to alert staff to the danger.

Terrence O'Keefe, who was serving a life sentence in a hospital's secure mental unit, was described as a "medium secure patient."

When he was transferred to another hospital in February for treatment, this meant staff did not understand the risk he posed, an inquiry found.

Terrence O'Keefe has been on the run since February

O'Keefe, 39, fled from King's College Hospital in South London after guards failed to handcuff him and he has been on the run ever since. Police say he is dangerous and should not be approached.

He had previously escaped from the same hospital in October 2005.

The revelations emerged in a damning report by South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, which runs Lambeth Hospital in South London where O'Keefe was being detained.

It said: "Recent events have suggested that certain language such as 'medium secure patient' is not transferable in the understanding of the level of risk posed."

The report concluded: "Consideration therefore is required as to how we portray or use common language whilst remaining sensitive to the patient's treatment needs."

The inquiry also found that procedures for transferring high-risk patients were inadequate. The trust says these have since been strengthened.

The report said that such patients should now routinely be handcuffed. The embarrassing report was briefly posted on the Trust's website but was removed after it prompted media enquiries. The Trust has since refused to make a copy of the report available.

A Trust spokesman claimed the report had never been intended for publication because it contains confidential information about security at hospitals.

The spokesman said: "Language used in psychiatric services can sometimes be complicated.

"This has been highlighted in this report and will be something that we will consider as part of determining any changes to our policies and procedures and their language."

Hilary McCallion, the Trust's director of nursing and education, said: "As a result of this incident we immediately strengthened arrangements for transferring medium secure unit (MSU) patients to acute hospitals.

"This included increasing the number of staff, from two to four, responsible for escorting MSU patients.

"All MSU patients will now be individually assessed to determine the level of risk involved in transferring them, should this be necessary at any time.

"Where the risk assessment indicates that it is appropriate we will use a security guard trained in physical restraint to accompany clinical staff responsible for the escort.

"Each individual risk assessment will be peer reviewed and regularly updated.

"Clearly, it is important for us to learn from this incident and to ensure that our policies are in line with the best available elsewhere in the NHS."

Police believe O'Keefe may be hiding in Liverpool, where he lived as a boy.

When he escaped in 2005, police arrested him the same evening after he was spotted in the city.

O'Keefe's brother Raymond Kennedy, 33, is also serving life for killing a homeless man in Liverpool in 1991. He has escaped from custody three times, most recently in September last year.

Last September, Kennedy absconded from Sudbury prison in Derbyshire, 16 years into his life sentence.

He was caught three months later on Christmas Eve after returning to his Liverpool home for the festive season.

O'Keefe is described as a light-skinned black man with a shaved head who may be wearing glasses.

When last seen, he was wearing a green fleece jumper, black jeans and tan-coloured Timberland style boots.

[deb]

Was there a point to this article?
What are we supposed to be moved to do exactly - look under the beds? Ask to check the details of every patient coming and going because of course we have extensive medical knowledge?
John, there are people that work within the NHS that live on this estate and nearby. If there are any facts that we need to be aware of they can be posted 'from a friend' as they have in the past - and be local and relevant. This just seems like scaremongering.

[cl12]

HI, I am a bit confused about this medium secure unit. What is the difference between that and what is here now? It seems that the police are always being called there and the other day cars were not allowed to leave the estate at lunch time because a patient had escaoed from the hospital. I take it the patients in the medim secure unit are not allowed to leave the hospital without staff, where as the current patients can? Is it being built on the green area just off Benbow Wa?

[deb]

If you have the last couple of Newsletters, there were pages about the hospital in there, see also below from a previous thread from a meeting with the hospital. A new thread was started to get away from the 'Medium Secure' tag but John just seems to want to get it back up there! Some service users are allowed out on their own, it is possible that those that you have seen out with their helpers have learning disabilities. Some of the teams are proactive (can't remember their name) and go out looking for people who have slipped through the mental health help net and it is possible that the police may have been involved there.
There will be no one serving out a life sentence over our fences.
This from the thread 'Medium Secure Unit':
8 male service users that will be using the refurbished Doddington Ward (that's the maximum it can hold) are of no different personality type than have been helped here in the past. To make it absolutely clear, there are no 'medium secure' units in Lincolnshire. Rampton would be classed as 'high secure' and Francis Willis at the Peter Hodgkinson Centre is a 'low secure' unit. The service users on Doddington Ward will be 'medium dependency rehabilitation' which is below any of these. Long Leys Court helps those with learning disabilities and Yarborough Court (Ashby Ward) is office accommodation for community teams... At present the teams on site have a maximum of 45 in patients. From December, after Doddington ward is refurbished this will reduce to 33.
...The Trust hope that in 3 or 4 years time there will be a brand new 'high dependency' unit to replace Doddington and Saxon Ward to help a maximum of 42 people (men and women). These may include people who have finished a term at Francis Willis or who need to be in a locked ward to help them beat a cycle of drug misuse.