DEVELOPERS who want to build houses on acres of open land at Peel Hall, Warrington, have had talks with senior planning officers on six occasions.
The six meetings between officers and representatives of development company Satnam took place between November last year and July this year, according to Warrington North MP Helen Jones (pictured).
She learned of the meetings in a letter from the council’s planning and regeneration director Andy Farrall, after making a Freedom of Information request to the borough council.
The Labour MP said: “Local residents will rightly be asking why it takes six meetings for the council to say no?”
Ms Jones has questioned why council planning officers are refusing to rule out building homes at Peel Hall.
She says it is a matter of concern that the council is saying no policy decision has been made on building at Peel Hall, despite the clear opposition of local people and the firm commitment of the Labour administration to never build at Peel Hall.
“It is clear that the council’s planning department is out of control and is ignoring the policies of elected representatives on the council.
“It does beg the question, who is running Warrington Borough Council? Elected Councillors or unelected officers?”
The Freedom of Information response Ms Jones has received say that officers had three meetings with Satnam between November last year and February this year to discuss the Local Development Framework Core Strategy.
A further three meetings took place between April and July this year involving council officers, Satnam and representatives of Winwick Athletic Football Club, to discuss residential development.
Ms Jones says Mr Farrall in his letter to her states: “It should be emphasised that no decision about policy or a development proposal has been made”
She also points out that Cllr Brian Maher, a Labour councillor representing the area, is on record as saying no planning application for Peel Hall could be accepted by the council without consulting residents because it is the council’s stated position that Peel Hall is “not suitable for development.”
Peter Taylor, assistant director for development and public protection at the council said: “The council’s policy since 2006 has been very clear in that the site is not currently appropriate for development. However, the long term future of the site has to be reviewed and determined as part of our strategic land use planning process.
“This has been subject to consultation since July 2010 and will ultimately be a decision of the council’s executive board and full council later this year or early 2012. Any interim or smaller scale proposals that may come forward as planning applications will be subject to determination by the council’s development control committee.”
Planners' six meetings with developer
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Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
11 Comments
Have elected councillors ever run WBC? I was under the impression that they just rubber stamped officer and consultant decisions.
out of control, time for a clear out, the Marton Close affair is the tip of the iceberg!
What are we going to find out next? And this is a Director that has just received a whoping inflation busting rise for his inefficiency! Why elect Councillors at all if the Officers are going to just do as they like? I thought we lived in a democracy but I must have got that wrong. Is the new Labour administration going to do anything about this?
The MP for Warrington North should be asking her Labour boy’s and girls at WBC about the meetings from 6th May to July??? Then again all she wants to do is have ago at staff and not her Labour Boys and girls
In October 2007, as a result of a legal challenge by Satnam Millennium Ltd, the High Court ruled that the UDP Proposals Map should be quashed insofar as it shows the site known as Peel Hall Farm as included in the North Cheshire Green Belt. The status of the site will now be addressed in the Local Development Framework Core Strategy
Yes, and I understand that they made a right mess of it as in fact they often do elsewhere if given half a chance. Councillors set the direction of the Council, and the officers that they employ carry out the day to day management of the Council. People need to understand, I think, that very few Councillors have ever run, on a day to day basis, large and complex organisations, in fact very few voters have ever run large and complex organisations. With regards to rubber stamping, well yes that is what they will do, if their policies are being carried out, with the operative word being IF.
And so we end up with the situation where the real checks and measures come from the population? Which appears to be the case in Warrington now.
I see Private Eye are now taking an interest in Warrington’s planning department.
Quite right too this borough’s questionable planning procedures have for far too long been concealed from a wider public scrutiny. PE’s summary of the Marton Close fiasco and those involved is spot on.
It's very obvious now that councillors are never going to shine a light into the murky corners of the planning department, so it's up to Warrington's residents to do it for them. The more public embarrassment that they all suffer, the better. Whatever happened to that inquiry by the way? Are they hoping we've forgotten?
there is no way that it will not happen