Biggleswade Health Centre - Planning Appeal - deadline for comments.

If you wanted to make comments on this appeal and you have not done so, then you have missed the opportunity. The deadline was 16th August 2011.

These are the documents I submitted to the Planning Inspectorate:

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Appeal by Biggleswade Town Council :

CB/10/00518/OUT

APP/P0240/A/11/2155625/NWF

Site at Land East of Saxon Drive & North of Stratton Park, Saxon Drive, Biggleswade

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Comments & Objections from:

Richard Mason

130 Holme Court Avenue

Biggleswade

Bedfordshire

SG18 8PB

01767 318402

mason@shebra.freeserve.co.uk

5th August 2011

 

The Application.

When this application for a health centre was first made on the 11th February 2010, there were a number of deficiencies in the application. Six in total. One item was the need for a Biodiversity and Protected Species survey. All six items needed to be addressed by the 15th March 2010 in order to validate the application. They were not received by Central Bedfordshire District Council until 23rd March 2010, but the application was still validated. The Biodiversity and Protected Species survey was a very basic document not professionally prepared but was enough to validate the application.

On the Outline Planning Application, the current use was given as "Agriculture, pasture & Allotments". The proposed use of the land which is outside of the development envelope was given at that time as "Health Centre, sports pitches, changing facilities with car parking, relocation of allotments, Travelling Show peoples site, Woodland, Meadowland, and children's play area. I was under the impression that you cannot use an outline application to enable a change of use together with a change of the LDF.

The Announcement.

Biggleswade Town Council briefed the local press and the story appeared in the Biggleswade Chronicle on Friday 19th March 2010. Copy attached. Strangely at that time Biggleswade Town Council were saying that they were on the brink of submitting an application, although this had already been submitted the month before. This application came as a surprise to the people of Biggleswade, who had expressed a preference during a consultation exercise, that had been carried out during this time, for the health centre to be in the town centre.

Central Bedfordshire District Council, Development Meetings

At the Development meeting of 5th July 2010, amongst other things the Biodiversity and Protected Species survey was considered inadequate. The application was deferred and Biggleswade Town Council were given three cycles in order to produce the required documentation. That would mean that the documentation should have been with Central Bedfordshire District Council by the end of August 2010 in order for the documents to be sent out for additional consultation, before the October 2010 meeting. The incomplete documentation was finally with Central Bedfordshire District Council near the end of October and the application went back to the Committee in January 2011 and was refused.

1.Central Bedfordshire District Council did not invalidate Biggleswade Town Council application,  even though the information was not provided by the due date.

2.The Development Committee gave Biggleswade Town Council more than ample time to produce the documentation, which they never did. More time than I expect other parties would have been given.

3. I do not believe an outline planning application can be used for a change of use or a change to the  LDF.

 

Council Powers and Authority

Biggleswade Town Council operates under powers summarised by a list produced by the National Association of Local Councils, copy attached. Although the list is not exhaustive it is a good guide to the powers that they have.

Health Centres are not included. The last item on the powers list is, "Power to well-being of the area". This power can only be exercised by Quality Councils. Biggleswade Town Council is not a quality council.

I do not believe Biggleswade Town Council has the power to make this application, which has so far cost the local taxpayers the order of £50,000. I believe it should have been rejected by Central Bedfordshire District Council on the basis that Biggleswade Town Council has acted ultra vires (beyond its powers).

The Biggleswade Town Clerk tells me (copy attached), that a discussion took place at a meeting of 16th June 2009 (minutes attached) under the heading of Saxon Sports Village. At that meeting it was decided to recommend to Council the funding of the Health Centre planning application. This is not recorded in those minutes. In fact you will see from the attached documents that the Town Clerk says "the minutes do not reflect the discussions that took place."

1. I believe Council has exceeded its powers and Central Bedfordshire District Council should have rejected the application on that basis alone.

2.There is no minuted authority for the expenditure on the planning application, which exceeds £50,000.