Public inquiry into South Lakeland District Council's Land Allocations Document 'suspended' (From The Westmorland Gazette)
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Public inquiry into South Lakeland District Council's Land Allocations Document 'suspended'
4:43pm Monday 19th November 2012 in News
By Steven Bell, Senior Reporter
AN inquiry into a council’s plans to zone land for housing and business development has been suspended until next year, it was revealed today.
South Lakeland District Council asked for hearings into its Land Allocations Document to be halted so a ‘number of issues’ raised so far could be ‘investigated thoroughly’.
Specifics around what the issues might be were not divulged by the council, but it comes after claims that schools might not cope if the document is formally adopted.
Planning inspector Simon Berkeley agreed to the authority’s request but Coun James Airey, leader of SLDC’s Conservative Opposition, which voted against the document, labelled the situation a ‘farce’.
The inquiry had been due to resume for two days from this Thursday (November 22) at Kendal Town Hall.
An SLDC spokesman said examination of the plans was a ‘long and complicated’ process which needed to be thorough.
The spokesman continued: “Additional issues have been raised during the hearings that have taken place and SLDC needs to ensure that these are thoroughly investigated and reported on.
“In order to achieve this we felt it best to ask for a suspension of the hearings to give us the time to put the reports together and provide opportunity for parties to read and understand before the examination hearings resume.”
Coun Airey hit out: “The inspector is quite rightly giving SLDC a rough ride over this unsound document.”
He said that the council had ‘failed to listen’ to concerns over the document, adding: “Now the whole process is in complete chaos and looking like a farce.”
SLDC shadow deputy leader, Coun Tom Harvey, added: “SLDC simply haven’t got their facts straight going in and now they’re paying the price.
“This is what happens when you run roughshod over communities.”
Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron said: “It's about giving more time to get this right, so the more consultation the better.
“To criticise the council for giving people the chance to have their voices heard is very odd.”
The public inquiry is trying to establish whether the document, which identifies potential areas to accommodate 6,000 homes in South Lakeland by 2025, is ‘sound’.
In October, the inquiry was told that Kendal’s schools would be unable to cope if the plans were OK’d.
The claim was made in evidence gathered by Cumbria County Council, which stated that two more primary schools would be required and the town's two secondary schools would be pushed above capacity.
Comments(18)
Ben Berry
says...
7:52pm Mon 19 Nov 12
onelocal
says...
8:40pm Mon 19 Nov 12
At last someone has brought the SLDC bulldozer to a halt.
This is the second major setback for the LibDems and SLDC in five days.
blade stall
says...
10:24pm Mon 19 Nov 12
Hoad Hill
says...
1:24pm Tue 20 Nov 12
This has now descended into a farce and the LibDems should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.
As for the planners who have spent an inordinate amount of time, at considerable expense, on this exercise...well they haven't exactly covered themselves in glory.
All of you at SLDC should remember that you are there to serve the residents of South Lakes, not rule them.
onelocal
says...
1:42pm Tue 20 Nov 12
Peter Thornton@PeterTho
rnton10
@martinlewes You may want to ask James for his evidence for his (3 so far) libels? Perhaps I should consult the lawyers of the noble Lord!
Cllr James Airey@JamesCllr
I have said nothing remotely libelous...but if you want to waste your money! Not scare tactics again surely?
Prudence Mary Jupe@PruJupe
@JamesCllr I have discovered myself that a few in your party sail very close to the wind. I will keep a close legal eye on you all.
boris plasticmac
says...
3:07pm Tue 20 Nov 12
Anybody who has been following this saga knows that we have been making responses to consultations, responses to futher consultations and reponses to further further consultations for what feels like a lifetime.
This further postponement is a disgrace and reflects badly on the competence of both Officers and Councillors .
onelocal
says...
3:32pm Tue 20 Nov 12
oceancloud
says...
4:26pm Tue 20 Nov 12
Unfortunately an unprecedented number of submissions did not stop the Lib Dem councillors voting the plan through. This was followed by thousands of signatures on an e petition which was also rejected by the Lib Dems. Then Farron says that, its a joke! Sorry Tim lad you've lost my vote.
in despair
says...
5:20pm Tue 20 Nov 12
It is time for Cllr Thornton to resign; for the LibDem whipping process to be withdrawn; for local councillors to start doing what they are there for - represent their constituents not pander to the party hierarchy. As for Farron's comment about consutation being a good thing - it is if the results are taken note of - but LibDems do not do that.
fourcandles
says...
6:21pm Tue 20 Nov 12
Here's an idea - how about saving our beautiful green surroundings and concentrating on getting affordable housing on brown field sites and utilising the hundreds of empty properties in the area??!
Hoad Hill
says...
11:29am Wed 21 Nov 12
onelocal wrote:Should our councillors be wasting their time insulting each other on Twitter at all?
The councillors' twitter exchange begs the question, should one elected councillor be threatening "to keep a close legal eye" on members of another party. Is this a conflict of interest? Doesn't SLDC have its own independent legal officer to do this? Seems this could stifle debate amongst our elected representatives.
They are behaving like a bunch of early teenage school girls (apologies to all school girls).
One of the main participants claims not have time to answer emails from his electors yet seems to spend a great deal of time Tweeting. Get a grip girls...you're elected to do a job...get on with it!
Hoad Hill
says...
11:38am Wed 21 Nov 12
The Information Commissioner let them off very lightly indeed.
life cycle too
says...
1:16pm Wed 21 Nov 12
The claim was made in evidence gathered by Cumbria County Council, which stated that two more primary schools would be required and the town's two secondary schools would be pushed above capacity."
If you put the consultation in the hands of novices who were inexperienced, you might expect such a detail to be overlooked... so can we conclude that SLDC ARE in fact novices, or just plain incompetent? if so, what else have they got wrong?
boris plasticmac
says...
2:55pm Wed 21 Nov 12
"We have received many skilful and challenging arguements from groups and individuals in this process" "We welcome these these challenges and now need to answer them thoroughly to ensure all involved know they are part of the process and have been listened too. As we have done throughout the whole process"
I would contest the "listened too " part of this statement. The problem has been that throughout the preparation of this plan SLDC has only listened to the developer side of the equation and not the genuine concerns of the public. From the council meeting in January, when the whipped Lib Dems accepted this deeply flawed document to the rejection of the petition in May, SLDC have been deaf to these concerns. Now when the Inspector raises his doubts about the plan they have suddenly become the listening council.
As somebody who once described the objectors as "Nimbys" I think Cllr Thornton's statement has been made as part of a public relations exercise to cover the omnishambles of this Land Allocations Examination .
laker1
says...
8:54am Thu 22 Nov 12
laker1
says...
8:56am Thu 22 Nov 12
A view From Cumbria
says...
9:01pm Fri 23 Nov 12
The fact is that Lib Dems do not expect to be held accountable for the tendentious contents of their own leaflets. There were four disingenuous statements in leaflets distributed in the elections last May, one, concerning the Conservative position on the Council Tax was a self-evident lie. None of them has ever apolgised.
Kermit the Frog AKA Tim Farron and his diamond signs are modern-day proof of the sagacity of the 16th President, "You can fool some of the people all of the time".
This debacle could have been avoided if some of the Lib Dem councillors had actually read the LAD before they put up their hands in support of Peter Thornton's railroading motion.
oceancloud says...
5:54pm Mon 19 Nov 12
Isn't that funny, many people have being saying that all along but these muppets don't take any notice, not until today anyway. I wonder if the inspector may have had a say in the decision as well !!