This petition calls upon Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to make the planning system work for ordinary people and put an end to the way in which big business and its multitude of corporate lawyers can bulldoze over the wishes of local communities. There are far too many instances where the planning system and its officials are exploited by the powerful at the expense of the powerless. Planning policy appears to be a box of goodies from which big business, developers and the legal profession can pick and choose what they want, ignoring those pieces that they don’t like.
Take, for example, the plight of myself and my neighbours. Back in 1983 I moved into my house on a large new housing development in St.Ives, Cambridgeshire, knowing that a large Co-operative supermarket and associated car park were to be built on land behind my house. Being somewhat surprised at the size of the car park, before committing to purchase the property I asked the developer for assurances that nothing else would be built on the car park and was given those assurances. In 1985 the first application for a Petrol Filling Station and associated shop on the car park was lodged by the Co-op. Years before completion of the housing development they were claiming that their car park was and always would be under-utilized. The Application was refused by both the town and local district council.
In 1990 the second planning application was lodged and again refused by the local district council on grounds of residential amenity and highway safety. An Appeal by the Anglia Co-operative Society was refused in 1991.
In 2003 a third application was again refused by the local district council on the same grounds. The Anglia Regional Co-operative Society launched an Appeal which took the form of a public inquiry lasting two days. The Co-op was represented by a top London QC instructed by their agent. The representatives of the local district council deserve credit but they were defeated by the greater resources of the Co-op. The Appeal was granted in 2004, establishing a new precedent.
In 2009, the local district to their credit again refused a new application on the grounds of residential amenity and highway safety, despite advice from their own planning officers that the decision would likely again go to Appeal at a cost to local council taxpayers. The application was granted on Appeal in 2011 with 5000.00 costs awarded against the local district council. Thus, not only were the views of local residents and local councilors ignored but they had to foot the bill for this privilege
In both 2003 and in 2009, local residents argued their case on legitimate planning grounds. Their ward councilors made every effort to support and present these to members of The Development Management Panel who were convinced by the validity of the arguments. So where has it gone wrong?
The Planning Inspector said in 2011:
‘Planning Authorities are not bound to accept the recommendations of their officers…(but)…need to show reasonable planning grounds for taking a contrary decision and produce relevant evidence on appeal. The councils' concerns …are legitimate planning concerns. However… The reasons for refusal have not been supported by relevant evidence’ [para-phrased]
The fact of the matter is that neither the local district council nor residents have the wherewithal to fund these appeals. Surely it is enough that the local community is in agreement that this is not an appropriate site for a Petrol Filling Station? What has happened to democracy in the planning system when outcomes can be bought?
You will note that in all of this, the Petrol Filling Station has never been built though planning permissions have been granted and then allowed to expire. So we are back where we started, with yet another planning application under consideration and yet another situation in which we are hopelessly outgunned by the resources of the so-called caring, sharing Co-op (this time Central England C-operative Limited) whose barrister warns us that a refusal of the application by local councilors ‘would inevitably bring more uncertainty for neighbours and further delay development of the site.’
To claim that building a Petrol Filling Station and shop within spitting distance of residents’ homes and gardens would not be of detriment to ‘residential amenity’ is invidious given that even the possibility of this has had a detrimental effect on my own and my neighbours’ lives for nigh on 30 years. It is also unworthy of the Co-operative Society, which trades on its reputation for fairness and ethical behaviour. But the fact of the matter is that the planning system is not designed for you and me or for the multitudes of ordinary people whom it oppresses. Sign my petition which calls for a true change to the planning system, one which gives a real voice to local communities and doesn’t represent an electoral sound-bite.
