MP backs country park (From Gazette Series)

MP backs country park

11:30am Tuesday 29th June 2010 in Thornbury news By Liza-Jane Gillespie

OWNERS of a country park threatened with closure have received the support of their local MP.

Steve Webb, MP for Thornbury and Yate, has said he will write to planning bosses at South Gloucestershire Council in support of Old Down Country Park.

Last month it was revealed how the country park, which was reopened last spring, was facing closure because of planning enforcement issues.

The site had previously been used as a country park until 2004 but when it closed and became a private residence again the permission lapsed.

New owners Arron and Katya Banks have submitted a planning application to the local authority to regularise operations but now face a nervous wait.

Mr Webb said: "I am writing to the council to urge the planners to give them consent.

"I can remember my own children going there and it was a shame when it closed. It’s great that they have been able to get it going again and to strangle an emerging business seems ludicrous to me.

"The council should recognise these are difficult economic times and the council should be supportive."

To view the application in full visit www.southglos.gov.uk