Who are Tenbury Futures?

The latest issue of the Teme Valley Times is now available from your local stockists, and once again it contains information and ideas provided by Tenbury Futures.

On their website they describe themselves "A Proactive Alliance of Concerned Local Residents and Businesses" and whilst they remain an "organisation" with no identifiable format or leadership, they seem to have decided to take the position of Town Council, Chamber of Trade and Civic Society to name just three local organisations.

Or is it they disagree with the democratically elected organisations so decided they would just ignore them and create sufficient confusion to get their opposing voice heard.

They claim that the "majority" this and the "majority" that, but if you look closely at the figures you will see that in fact what they really mean is the "majority" of the tiny minority who expressed an opinion or answered a closed question.

In their latest questionnaire they have replies from 32 shops, (out of nearly 100) so were the other shops not interested, did they have opinions that didn't meet the criteria, or did they feel that Tenbury Futures didn't have a mandate to be asking the questions, or did the questionnaires only go to the traders who they thought would give the right answers?

The Town Council and other duly elected representatives have been working and lobbying for many years to get the bridge repaired, and yes the closure will be a major inconvenience, but nothing compared to perhaps losing the bridge altogether in the next flood.  If that happened, who would people look to for a solution?  Tenbury Futures or the various Council officials.

I reported back in April that the bridge would have to close for repairs.  Why is it only now six months later that there is a call to postpone the work? If the traders were so unhappy with the plan, why did so few attend the Chamber of Trade AGM, or at least have the subject raised as an agenda item.  Is it perhaps that the chances of the Tesco application being approved is very high, and this is seen by Tenbury Futures (aka the TesNo group) as a way to also postpone the planning decision.

I think many of the ideas presented by Tenbury Futures have merit, but we live in a democracy with systems and procedures, so it's far better to join the establishment and try to change it from the inside than to keep floating ill conceived ideas in the press.  Perhaps, these proactive residents can join some of the existing Tenbury organisations and invigorate them with energy and new ideas.

Public Briefing Teme Bridge Tenbury

A Public Briefing about the Teme Bridge Tenbury refurbishment will be held at Tenbury High School on Wednesday 21st September 2011 between 7:30 and 9:30 pm.

The purpose of the briefing is to advise on arrangements during the bridge closure to traffic from 9th January 2012.

Advanced notice of issues you wish to raise at the meeting can be conveyed through:

Email - highwayscontrolcentre@worcestershire.gov.uk , or

Telephone – Worcestershire Hub 0845 607 2005

Mindless Morons : Updated

Please take a look at the updated "Mindless Morons" post.

If you have any information, however small, please contact either the Police, the Town Clerk, Crimestoppers or even leave an anonymous message on this blog.

Tenbury Tesco Plans & Documents

Click on picture for more images. (Will only work when MHDC planning site is working)

The third Tesco application has now been validated and the documents are available online from the malvernhills.gov.uk planning website, and also in the Tenbury Library and at the Pump Rooms.

If you wish to object, then guidance is available on http://tenbury-futures.blogspot.com/ but as they correctly point out, objections can only be on planning grounds.

Although this is a new planning application, the applicants feel (& I believe that they are correct) that the have already met all the necessary planning requirements in their previous applications, and the only hurdle left to jump is that of design.

There is still the matter of the demolition of the old infirmary, but I'm guessing that provided the developers get approval for the development, then the demolition permission will be allowed.

Malvern planners do not appear to have yet set a closing date for consultations, but expect a decision in early November.

Shropshire Star

Tenbury Lloyds Bank to close.

Lloyds Bank are being forced by the EU to sell off  620 branches of Lloyds, TSB & Cheltenham & Gloucester branches, throughout England, Wales & Scotland.


The recently renovated building in Tenbury may remain as a bank as Virgin Money & National Australia Bank are expected to bid for many of the branches.


Branches in Ludlow, Leominster & Bromyard appear safe, but Church Stretton, Ledbury, Hereford & Malvern will all loose some or all of their branches.


Full details The Guardian

Tenbury has mindless morons too.

With the trail of destruction across the country it was only a matter of time before someone in Tenbury thought they should join in.  Their target was not a high end retailer, but the new fence surrounding the children's playground.  So, yet more expense for the already financially challenged Town Council to find for repairs.

Further pictures of the other damage done on the same evening (Click to enlarge)

More info : Tenbury Advertiser

Please sign up to stop the waste.

WCC appear to sink new bridge plan.

From yesterdays Shropshire Star :

Campaigners aiming to stop Tesco’s multi-million pound bid for a new store in Tenbury Wells will tonight plead with councillors to support their alternative plan for the former Cattle Market site.


I was expecting the Pump Rooms to be packed with all the Tenbury Futures supporters, so was rather surprised to see only 2 people that I recognised from the Futures group plus 3 other members of the public (who don't usually attend).


Matt Crawford spoke on behalf of the Futures Group.

He explained that Tenbury Futures "acted as a focal point point for concerned people, businesses, former residents & tourists"

He went on to say "that the ideas were from the 300 returned questionnaires" and that the majority of the people wanted "the reuse of the RBB building, additional car parking, space for the Holy & Mistletoe market and room for the Food Fair & Applefest" also that "Plan B was just one possible use for the site" also "details need to be fleshed out"

He claimed that the Cattle Market had been "closed for 12 years" (which surprised me) and that "a number of grants would be available" 

Tenbury Futures plan to form a "Public Interest Company" and that investors would be "offered a return on investment" with income being derived from "rental income, car parking charges and the sale of excess electricity"

Tenbury Futures had made an effort to contact the site owner, but he remained illusive.

In a later part of the meeting,  WCC Cllr Ken Pollock said that he had visited the Cattle Market site with the County Council's Engineering Project Manager who commented that it was very unlikely that permission would ever be granted for a bridge in that location, and if it was, then for the necessary road linkages, a building on Teme Street would have to be demolished (He didn't say which but I think it's safe to say the Spar block)  With the cost of the planning, land purchase, bridge & road works then the scheme would cost many £Ms.  It was also unlikely that WCC would agree to add another bridge to their ongoing maintenance budget. (See press release for full details)


So that idea is dead then! 


Additional information.


Press Release from Cllr Pollock


289 people returned the Tenbury Futures Questionnaire, of these 101 were from Tenbury Wells & 34 from Burford.  The majority of the people who completed forms also wrote objection letters to MHDC regarding the Cattle Market planning application.
2130 people are registered as voters in the Tenbury Town Ward (this excludes St Michaels)
The 2001 census reported a population of 3,316 in Tenbury Wells and 1,108 in Burford.