Redevelopment Result

First of all, my apologies for not writing this post for a couple of weeks, as I know some of you have been waiting to hear about the redevelopment threat to St Michael's Studios...

We've actually had the most incredible couple of weeks - First we managed to get the 2nd 'redevelopment' proposal rejected, and last weekend was our most popular Bridport Open Studios event ever.

On Thursday 20th August hundreds of local people turned out in force for the 'southwest quadrant' planning decision meeting at the United Church Hall on East Street, and 30 speakers (27 of whom were opposed to the development) pushed the meeting to 3 hours of high drama before the district councillors voted 5 to 4 to reject the 2nd proposal.

Councillor Ros Kayes summed it up when she said “What you are therefore faced with today is a moral decision – to support the profits of a private developer or to recognise the special qualities of an area of unique historical and economic significance to Bridport."

It was an amazing event that all those present will remember, and it was the main conversation about town for the following week. It was as if local people had woken up to the fact that what they most loved about the town was threatened and they had to do something about it. After the committee’s decision Bridport Town Council leader Dave Rickard said: “I don’t think I have ever been more proud of where I live than last Thursday. "

You can read the Bridport News coverage of the event here, as we wait to see what the West Dorset District Council will come up with next...

Naturally we were very happy that we were able to return to work at St Michael's Studios, but there was also a strong feeling of anger over the considerable time we've all had to spend in order to save what is now recognised as an important asset to the town. Many of us are extremely disappointed that the WDDC has continued to try to push unsuitable redevelopment plans onto our town, without a genuine consultation with local traders, and to waste our valuable time as we've had to defend our jobs and community.

You would think that they would be trying to support the many self-employed tenants of the St Michael's Trading Estate, since Bridport is still a low-income working town that needs more jobs and employment, not more housing estates. The WDDC should be pleased that we still have a thriving trading estate in the heart of the town, and we would love them to ask US how they can help us build on our success.

Before the meeting, Town and district Councillor David Tett had urged members to "support the planning officers’ recommendation to go ahead and tidy up the area before it fell further into decay." This is a totally inaccurate and misleading thing to say. The fact is that every available space is being used on the trading estate, and there is always demand for whatever spaces become available. We agree that certain areas are run down, but that is only because just the minimum amount of money has been invested by the landlords to keep the estate going. We haven't complained because this has also kept the rents low, which is exactly what has allowed the area to flourish.

I said at the meeting that we actually have a great relationship with our landlords, since they do a great job in providing low cost studios for the creative industries and allowing many small businesses the opportunity to start-up without high operating costs. I hope that we can now all go forward with an appreciation for what the area brings to Bridport, and learn to work together in the future for the greater good of the town - all of us - tenants, traders, landlords, town and district councils.

I'll tell you about our amazing Bridport Open Studios event on my next blog...