Seeking a new chair for the Tesco decision

 Dear Brett

I attach the Council decision to my complaint regarding the Tesco car park application not going to the full planning committee meeting. This is the key extract.

"It was then concluded that the proposal did not meet one or more of the following criteria:

 The application did not appear to raise issues of a strategic nature of borough wide interest, or

 The application did not appear to raise any complex policy issues in terms of the adopted local Plan/London Plan, or

 The application did not appear to raise any other issues of a complex nature, and

 In the case of a Member call-in, did not give adequate or sufficient reasons why the application cannot be dealt with by an officer.

It was therefore agreed by the Chair, in consultation with officers, that the application could be determined under delegated authority. This application granted temporary permission (for 3 years from the date of permission) on 25 September 2020. In deciding the above application, the Council has not predetermined the separate application under planning reference 4309/19, which is still under consideration to be assessed on its own merits. The determined application is not reliant upon the other application that is still under consideration; the two applications are independent of each other."

I maintain all the points made in my original complaint.

I say the car park application and the main application with 1280 homes should have been treated as one application. The car park application will not happen unless the main application succeeds, they are clearly dependant on each other.

The Chair passing the car park application before the main application sends a message to the Councillors serving on the planning committee that the Chair and officers support the main application. This decision by the Chair brings into question the Chair's neutrality on the night that the main decision is heard.

So I seek your agreement that a different Councillor should chair the meeting when the main Tesco application is heard.

Regards

Andy