Since then, there have been two further rounds of exhibitions and a series of workshops and interest groups inviting the community to give feedback on the plans as they emerged. This was supplemented by the distribution of newsletters, a regularly updated web-site and promotion of a dedicated consultation phone line and e-mail address to make it as easy as possible for comments to be made and questions asked.

For more details on the each stage of the consultation programme and what happens next, please see below.

Phase One

15 – 18 July 2008
Public exhibitions held in St Athan, Cowbridge and Llantwit Major

10 September 2008
Public exhibition held in Llanmaes

4 and 9 December 2008
Public Workshops held in St Athan focusing on Community Facilities and Transport

February/March 2009
Public Interest Groups were held in St Athan focusing on the Environment and Community Welfare.

Phase Two

March/April 2009
A second series of public exhibitions was held in the local area to update everyone on the project, highlight the key changes that have been made to the masterplan since the last round of exhibitions and show how the views of the public and other stakeholders have been considered.

Vale of Glamorgan Council – Statutory Consultation

Summer 2009
The planning applications for the Defence Technical College and Aerospace Business Park were submitted to the Vale of Glamorgan Council in May 2009. As part of the statutory process, the Council will undertake a comprehensive, 16 week study of the proposals incorporating further public consultation during which the local community and stakeholders will be invited to give feedback on the plans direct to the Council. A decision on the planning applications, to be made by the Council’s Planning Committee, is expected during September 09.

The first round of public exhibitions was held over five days in July. During the week, approximately 300 members of the public attended exhibitions in St Athan, Cowbridge and Llantwit Major. On 10 September, a further public exhibition was held in Llanmaes at the request of Llanmaes Community Council.

Representatives from Metrix, the Welsh Assembly Government, the MoD and other specialist consultants were on hand to answer questions whilst exhibition materials provided background information. The exhibition also provided members of the public with their first opportunity to see and comment on the latest draft plan for the site.

The St Athan team was delighted with the strong turnout and were particularly encouraged to hear that the overwhelming majority of people were keen to see the project progress and acknowledged the benefits that the Defence Technical College and Aerospace Business Park will bring to the region.

During and following the exhibitions, many people took the time to make their views on the draft plans known by completing feedback forms.  This feedback has been comprehensively analysed and, where possible, will be considered as the plans for the site move forward. To download a copy of the full analysis click here. Hard copies of the analysis are also available, to request a copy click here.

A large number of comments and questions focused on the potential impact of increased traffic on the local area.  Many of these expressed concern over the impact of increased traffic and went on to draw attention to specific roads, junctions, streets and/or villages that they felt needed to be given particular attention. The general need to improve public transport in the area was also a common theme in the feedback.

A large number of comments and questions related to employment, with many focusing on the number and type of opportunities that could be available to the local community.  There was a balance between those who welcomed the opportunities and those who expressed scepticism at the benefits the redevelopment will bring.

Many people made comments about the environment.  These focused primarily on the potential damage the proposed development could cause to the local wildlife and landscape and concerns over noise, light and traffic pollution. 

Housing was another common theme in the feedback, particularly the potential location of new housing and the impact any new housing could have on local services and infrastructure.

If you were unable to attend the exhibitions, copies of all the exhibition materials are available to view in the Community Updates section of the News page.

During December, the St Athan project team held two public workshops which focused on the subject areas of Community Facilities and Transportation.  The workshops proved extremely popular with the local community and other stakeholders from throughout the Vale of Glamorgan and together attracted well over 100 attendees. 

The Workshop on Community Facilities attracted over 45 attendees and focused on the provision of sports and recreational facilities that the public would gain access to through the redevelopment of MOD St Athan.

The Workshop on Transportation attracted almost 70 attendees. Subjects discussed included the importance of ensuring adequate pubic transport provision, the need to ensure the road network could cope with any associated increase in traffic and how construction traffic would be managed during the build phase.
Both workshops provided an opportunity for the public to quiz the project team on various aspects of the proposed scheme and put forward their own ideas about what should be considered as the masterplan continues to evolve. 

Attendees worked together in small groups led by a dedicated facilitator and discussed a range of topics relating to the overall subject area.  This proved extremely constructive and many good ideas, questions and comments were tabled.

The comments made at each workshop have been compiled into two reports which have been considered as part of the masterplanning process. In addition, the reports were submitted to the local planning authority as part of the planning application.

A follow-up document is now available to download which looks at how the comments and ideas have been considered and, where applicable, shows how they have influenced the emerging masterplan.

If you were unable to attend the workshops or would like to view the documents outlined above, please click here.

Hard copies of these documents are also available, to request a copy click here.

Interest Groups – February/March 2009

Following on from the workshops, two Interest Groups were held in late February and early March looking in more detail at the subject areas of the Environment and Community Welfare.

The Environment Interest Group covered a broad range of issues including energy generation, recycling, green travel, ecology and pollution. The Community Welfare Interest Group focused on issues including employment, security, the training environment, housing and construction.

The interest groups again proved very popular with over 100 attendees in total over the two evenings. They opened with presentations from the specialist consultants who gave detailed information on their area of expertise. This was followed by a breakout Q&A session where members of the public could ask particular questions.

As with the workshops, the presentations delivered and a record of the comments and questions discussed at the interest groups are available to download from this website. Please click here to view all the materials. Hard copies are also be available upon request.

This round of consultation began with a stakeholder preview event at the RAF St Athan Golf Club which included a series of presentations, given by representatives from Metrix, the MoD and the Welsh Assembly Government, to an audience of key stakeholders from across the Vale. The public exhibitions then followed and were held in St Athan, Llantwit Major, Cowbridge and Barry with over 200 people attending over the four dates. Detailed information about the Defence Technical College, Aerospace Business Park and supporting infrastructure and housing was provided via exhibition panels, maps, plans and a 3D computer animated fly through. Representatives from Metrix, Welsh Assembly Government, the MoD and other specialist consultants were also on hand to answer particular questions and provide detail about all aspects of the project. To view the materials displayed at the exhibition, please click here.

The exhibitions enabled the project team to show how the views of the public and stakeholders, expressed at previous exhibitions, workshops, interest groups and via feedback forms, had been considered and where possible impacted on the evolving plans. It was also a further opportunity for the project team to capture the public’s views ahead of submitting the planning application to the Vale of Glamorgan Council in May 2009.

Much constructive conversation took place throughout the week and the project team was extremely pleased with the overall turnout. As during the Phase One exhibitions, the subject of transport proved extremely common with many discussions surrounding specific roads, junctions and areas of improvement taking place. The potential locations for new housing also proved a key point of conversation for many.

For those who were unable to attend the exhibitions, all the materials are available to view in the Community Updates section of the News page.

The planning applications for the Defence Technical College and Aerospace Business Park were submitted to the Vale of Glamorgan Council in May 2009. As part of the statutory process, the Council will undertake a comprehensive, 16 week study of the proposals incorporating further public consultation during which the local community and stakeholders will be invited to give feedback on the plans direct to the Council. A decision on the planning applications, to be made by the Council’s Planning Committee, is expected during September 09.

Write to us at: Camargue Group Ltd, Freepost RRKG-AZTG-JLJX, St Athan Consultation, Eagle Tower, Montpellier Drive, Cheltenham, GL50 1TA.

Email us at: enquiries@st-athanconsultation.co.uk

Note: your details will only be used by us for communication regarding development at St Athan. They will not be used for any other marketing purposes.