Comments on CHE/19/00199/FUL (McDonalds West Bars)
Paul
The revised site plan for this application dated 16th August 2019 does very little to address the concerns our Campaign highlighted in our original objection.
It is noted that there is now a pedestrian route from West Bars which is welcomed and three cycle parking stands. However the issues of cycle access to the site have not been addressed and the location of the three cycle parking stands implies cyclists are still supposed to access the site from Markham Road having negotiated the West Bars roundabout, this is not compliant with CS20 ‘prioritising walking and cycling access’. As a minimum we expect safe cycle access from West Bars to any cycle parking provided.
We also note that our comments about the dangerous walkways adjacent to the car parking spaces have been ignored. It is very poor practice to put pedestrian walkways between the internal service road and car parking spaces. Children and adults will be put in a vulnerable situation with cars reversing and entering parking spaces across where they are walking.
In our original objection we suggested a safer solution to this problem which we would have hoped the developers would have adopted.
Therefore we still object to this application on the grounds that it is contrary to Core Strategy CS20 and with Chesterfield Borough Council’s recent declaration of a ‘climate emergency’ all steps should be taken to encourage non car based transport by making it convenient and safe.
Alastair Meikle
Secretary, Chesterfield Cycle Campaign
The application was refused by CBC planning committee, read the decision notice here.