ARTIST’S impressions and a summary of changes were among the display boards at the latest Barton Farm consultation.

But the exhibition in the Guildhall made little mention of community facilities – a source of considerable concern amongst city councillors at the last forum in May.

Mike Emett, Cala land director said: “There was quite a lot of inaccurate concern. I was surprised that people were not aware of our obligations to provide a community centre. Certain people seemed to be getting quite excited that what we were providing was not enough. Those people who say ‘We have only got one community centre, we need three’, are confusing the fact that we provide what was laid out in the agreement.

“There is a lot of flexibility on what people would like to see, but in terms of the quantum, that has been fixed for some time and officers are aware of that and members should be too.”

The meeting saw 239 members of the public examine a series of sequential display boards, including one which outlined changes that had been made to the master plan in light of public consultation.

Modifications included the realignment of the bus route, paid for by Cala, from the perimeters of the development, to within it, to “assist in the creation of a lower density and softer edge to the countryside and open aspects.”

Many of the changes seek to improve connectivity between parcels of development, the neighbourhood centre, and Henry Beaufort School. But former mayor, Cllr Frank Pearson, still has some reservations.

He said: “For one of the sections of development there seems to be no easy access for parents walking their children to the school. One of the Cala guys said it’s only 400metres, but that’s 400metres without a footpath.

“My unhappiness remains at the community facilities – one size does not fit all. That said, overall I think it looks like it’s coming together as a pleasant suburb and I like the green spaces.”

Boards also displayed the phases in which the project will be delivered and the design code which will guide the 2000-home development.

Ruth Helyar, a 39-year-old mother of three, of Courtenay Road, was one of the first to arrive at the exhibition.

She said: “I’m totally relaxed about this development. I’m very pleased about the recreational facilities that will now be available to my boys.

“The traffic won’t affect us and we’re already walking distance from the town, so even traffic problems would be just a good excuse for me to leave the car on the drive.”

Some residents had formed the impression that recreational facilities could take up to 15 years to materialise.

Asked to clarify the timeframe for the delivery of them, Mr Emett said: “Details of the recreational areas at Barton Farm were displayed at the public consultation event this week. We provided a phasing plan which showed that the proposed open space will come on stream during phase one and further public open space will be provided on each subsequent phase of the development."