| Subject |
Tobias
Ellwood calls for Yellow Buses profits to be set aside
|
| Ref |
PR/06-129 |
| Date |
Tuesday
9th May 2006 |
Tobias Ellwood
is calling for Bournemouth Council to establish an 'Appeals Reserve
Fund' from the windfall made in the sale of the Yellow Buses (£13.8m).
The fund would
be used to pay for the legal costs that arise if developers challenge
and overturn the planning decisions made by the Planning Board.
The fund would remove the financial pressures to approve planning
applications simply because the Council could not risk facing the
costs if its decision was overturned on appeal.
Tobias explained:
"The Council
are now approving applications for over 1,000 new dwellings every
year. This increase is not only affecting the character of our town
but the quality of some of the dwellings currently being approved
is worrying.
Developers see
Bournemouth as a soft touch, where they are able to replace Victorian
houses with large blocks of cheap, unattractive flats with limited
facilities and no off-street parking. The vagaries surrounding planning
guidelines mean developers have teams of lawyers poised to appeal
any decision that is refused. By removing the financial pressures
the Planning Board faces, I hope the Council will be more inclined
to refuse applications which are clearly designed by developers
who aim to make money and move on.
The Troika hospital/office
development involving the Park and Ride scheme is a rare example
of the Planning Board refusing an application. The application was
arguably only refused in response to the public outcry against it.
The planning officer's recommendation was to APPROVE the Troika
development. It was apparent that some Lib Dem Councillors supported
the scheme, citing the costs of an appeal as grounds to approve
the application. This case proves how powerful developers are. The
introduction of an appeals fund would see that power returned to
the Planning Board."
|
