Unfortunately I have been too busy to get this up, but here is how I voted on the measures at planning on the 10th February, keep in mind that these are entirely my opinions and do not represent the opinions of the party I stand for and with:
Development 15/0884, Land North of Beldham Bridge Road
• Planners Recommendations: Grant
• Issues of Contention: residents just don’t want more homes in their back yard, some technical issues with the visibility of the access. Speakers addressed all the issues about why they don’t want more houses in their back yards, but did almost nothing to make the case about visibility
• How I voted: against, approved by 8-5
• Why: informatives added, and nothing can be started until suitable solutions are agreed on, but I did not accept that the visibility was sufficient
Development: 158/1047 Castle Grove Inn, Scott’s Grove Road, Chobham
• Planners Recommendations: Grant
• Issues of Contention: conversion of a dis-used pub to house, visibility at the junction, condition based on fences that would need separate approval
• How I voted: for approval, matter approved by unanimous vote
• Why: no reason not to, there was no compelling reason not to do this
Development: 15/0868 Hook Meadow, Philpot Lane; Chobham
• Planners Recommendations: refuse
• Issues of Contention: extensive planning and enforcement history, highly contentious on all sides, very special circumstances?
• How I voted: Against refusal, matter carried 13-2
• Why: issue of compassion, this is something that we could have approved, the monitoring officer instructed us that, because of an enforcement order from previous proceedings on this application that we had to turn this down, but I did not accept that this was true. We have approved similar applications and not far physically away from this property. Councillors Brooks and Dougan are to be congratulated for trying to find a way to grant this on compassionate grounds, but to no avail. Particularly disconcerting was the proposal made by a councillor from Bisley who stated that although he did it with a “heavy heart”, the committee had to go with the planners recommendation. That same councillor said the exact opposite when the matter of the new houses on the site of the Old Bisley Office Products came before us several months back. In fact he dragged me out on a Saturday to see how stupid it was, and I voted with him on that matter. What is right one day is apparently not right on another…
