GATEACRE PARK MOTORS, Thurne Way. We mentioned this planning application (08O/2065) in our March 2009 Newsletter. Planning permission was REFUSED by the Council on 1st May, on the grounds that a three-storey building would be inappropriate in this location, and that the creation of new shops here might jeopardise the redevelopment of the adjacent Neighbourhood Centre.

GATEACRE NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE, Gateacre Park Drive. Planning permission for application 09O/0322 (see our May Newsletter) was GRANTED by the Council on 3rd July. Although the Hathaway Close pedestrian access point will be sealed off - as requested by local residents - the developers will be required to provide or pay for improved pedestrian facilities elsewhere, and also to prepare a Green Travel Plan to promote forms of transport other than the private car.

YORK COTTAGES access road, off Grange Lane. Planning permission was GRANTED on 19th June for the resurfacing of the access road with tarmac (application 09F/0955). This work is to be paid for by Riverside Housing, who own the majority of the cottages. We supported this proposal, as the existing trackway - which is unadopted, and therefore not the responsibility of the City Council - was becoming more and more pot-holed and hazardous. The Gateacre Society was involved in saving the cottages from demolition in the 1970s, and having the front garden area landscaped in the 80s, and we are pleased that a solution to the problem of the access road has at last been found.

FORMER ELECTRIC LIGHTING STATION, 13b Sandfield Road. Revised plans for the conversion of this historic building to 5 dwellings were submitted by the owners in June 2009, and planning permission was GRANTED on 12th August. As with the previously-approved plans (reported in our January 2007 Newsletter) we supported the principle of conversion, but expressed doubts over the car parking provision and also the materials to be used for the new south elevation. A condition attached to the planning permission (09F/1205) requires a planting scheme to be drawn up for the southern boundary, which was another of our particular concerns.

WALNUT COTTAGE, 30 Sandfield Road. We briefly mentioned this application for UPVC windows (08H/2885) in our January Newsletter. We initially expressed doubts as to the suitability of UPVC, but we (and the City Council's planning officers) were reassured by the detailed drawings subsequently submitted by the applicant. These show that the glazing bars are to be correctly profiled and of the 'stick on' style - rather than 'sandwiched between the panes'. Planning permission was GRANTED on 21st August.