Dear Sirs
I am writing on behalf of Bathley Parish Council (BPC) regarding the hearing conducted by members of the planning department and the information received by the council prior to the hearing. BPC would like to point out the following issues:
- Originally the Parish Council had been told that the hearing had been arranged for the 17th September and that the council were appointing their own representative to speak at the hearing. Subsequently, BPC was told that the hearing had been downgraded to an informal meeting so there would be no independent representation from the Council. At the next Parish Council meeting BPC was informed that there is no such thing as an informal meeting and the hearing was going ahead in any case without independent representation from the council. BPC conclude that there has been misrepresentation regarding this hearing.
- At the hearing there was a panel of members of the planning committee and a highways representative from the County Council constituting 4 people. Space was not made available for the BPC representative that had contacted the Planning Inspectorate prior to the hearing, so he should have had a place on the panel from which he could speak on our behalf. Also, the speaker system did not work in the room, consequently residents could not hear what the panel were saying. The Planning Inspector had to rearrange the seating in order for the attendees to hear the proceedings.
- Point 1 On the Agenda (which BPC were not given prior to the hearing)
Statement of Common Ground. There was a dispute that the council had not addressed or commented on so the statement had to be struck from the meeting and discussed at a later date.
- On the questioning by the Planning Inspector regarding various issues, ie facilities and services in Bathley, the panel were consistently not able to answer the questions put forward to them due to lack of preparation and lack of knowledge of the site in question. Namely: Regarding the facilities in Bathley and surrounding villages. The council were of the opinion that there is a church in Bathley. There is no church in Bathley. They wrongly stated that there is a shop in the neighbouring village of North Muskham. There is no shop in North Muskham it is now a hairdressing salon. What local transport ie buses are available in the area, the council were unable to answer as they did not have the relevant information to hand. What catchment schools and primary schools are available to the residents of Bathley – the council were unable to answer, what planning applications have been put forward in Bathley for new housing. The planning department failed to inform the Inspector that the new houses that have been built in Bathley were merely extensions of existing buildings and as such were not new buildings. This would have an effect on any decision the Planning Inspector reached and was not pointed out by the planning department. The planning department were unaware of previous planning applications on that particular parcel of land that had been rejected. This was brought up by one of the residents.
- The highways issue was not sufficiently dealt with as a suitable road traffic survey had not been made available. The panel were also not aware of any accidents or incidents relating to the site in question. This was brought up by one of the residents.
- Regarding the need for gypsy and traveller pitches – the council had no figures for available pitches at alternative sites ie Tolney Lane so were unable to comment. The council were also unable to comment on how many pitches are available to travellers in the East Midlands area.
Bathley Parish Council would like to report that it is not satisfied with the Council’s handling of this hearing and that BPC would like to request a further hearing so the Planning Inspector can have a broader view on the issue. BPC feels that it has not been fairly represented by the council due to lack of preparation for the meeting and lack of knowledge of the site, even in the highways department, as the Highways department representative was only briefed on the case the day before the meeting.
We welcome your comments on the above.
Yours faithfully
S Grogan
Clerk to Bathley Parish Council on behalf of Brian Cross, Chair of BPC