Mass petition calls for Council to delay sale of Old Prison site
A petition asking CDC to delay the sale of the Old Prison at Northleach so that alternative plans can be developed by residents and the Cotswold Conservation Board was set up in November. It has now attracted the required amount of signatures to force the issue to be debated at a meeting of the full council on 28 February.
The petition attracted 1200 signatures and has tapped into strong local feeling about the future of the site.
Diana Ray,who organised the petition,will speak at the Council meeting at the end of the month at which any Council member may debate the issue.
A cross-party motion will also be presented to the Council on the same day. It will call on the Council to:
- take account of and give due weight to the public wish to preserve that heritage and ensure continued public access to the Prison site and to the Lloyd Baker collection in addition to considering the cash value of any bid and
- seek to minimise any adverse economic impact on the local economy.
A public meeting was held in Northleach this week at which 30 local residents made their views known.
Cllr Paul Hodgkinson,Leader of the Liberal Democrats on CDC,also spoke and told the meeting: “The Council must take into consideration the heritage and unique historic value of the site when deciding who to sell the land to. Of course the Council needs money in this time of cuts but that needs to be balanced with preserving the area’s history as well.”
