On 3 June 2021, members of United Utilities’ Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme (HARP) team held a webinar and provided an update on their current thinking. The event was attended by up to 71 people, including some residents of West Bradford.
The main points to emerge from the presentation were:
1) Planning application
It remains the intention of the HARP team to submit an application to Ribble Valley Borough Council for planning consent during the month of June 2021, although no precise date for this was given. This application will be supported by a number of key documents which will hopefully provide clarity on aspects of the proposal, and enable the Parish Council and residents to better understand its implications. The Parish Council intends to submit a formal response to RVBC under the planning consultation process, and residents are of course fully entitled to make their own individual submissions. The Parish Council will continue to monitor the RVBC website for submission of the planning application, and will advise residents of this through the Parish Council website.
2) Traffic implications for the village
The HARP team outlined the two options which they have developed to enable construction traffic to access the main site at Waddington. As previously outlined on this website, one option is for a new river crossing and temporary road from Bradford Bridge to the west of Waddington and West Bradford Primary School, the other is for increased heavy vehicle traffic passing through West Bradford itself. Subject to seeing the detail of each proposal when the planning application is made, the Parish Council remains committed in principle to the former.
3) Community Investment Strategy
The HARP team has previously referred to the need to establish a Community Investment Strategy, in recognition of the inconvenience from the development activity and its impact upon local residents. The HARP team was reluctant to go into detail about this issue at this stage, but indicated their intention to work with parish councils in drawing up the Strategy. West Bradford Parish Council will continue to engage with HARP on this matter as the opportunity arises.
For any further detail on HARP issues, please feel free to contact the Clerk.