Cala's Monastery Application Consultation

We attended a consultation meeting on Cala's application to build houses on the site of St Mary's Monastery.

From the literature provided at the consultation meeting they clearly state the following

Millions of pounds of investment are needed to secure a future for the Monastery

1)       Rooms and corridors are not accessible for those with disabilities
2)       The Monastery does not meet full Health and Safety legislation, with many of the gas fires condemned as unsafe
3)       Rooms are not fit for purpose, with shower and bathroom facilities out of date or non- existent
4)       Electrical and other services are in desperate need of improvement

Planning permission to carry out bathroom renovations was granted by PKC in 2004.

We consider that the above information indicates serious planned neglect of the property and certainly not sudden and unforeseen problems.

Given these concerns, the possible £2 million purchase price of the site by Cala will in no way fund the work necessary

At the consultation meeting Cala's planning people were asked the following:-

a) What was the average size of a plot? They could not answer

b) Was the housing low density or compact? Their answer was that due to site constraints they could only build on parts of it

c) Would they have to contribute to PKC instead of building affordable housing, ? They stated that if this was necessary they would have to increase the number of houses to pay for it.