The District Council have tonight refused an application for 2 extra flats at 36 Hockley Road, Rayleigh.
The developers have already won permission for 20 flats at a public inquiry. They were now pushing for 2 more , to be built in the roof of the front building facing onto Hockley Road itself. Councillors knew that local residents were very much against the scheme , but our freedom of action was limited.
Cllr Mavis Webster moved refusal for a lot of reasons, but didn’t get enough support from other councillors. They felt that most of these reasons wouldn’t be strong enough to win at another planning inquiry.
However Ron Oatham had pointed out that the design of the dormer windows didn’t comply with our council policies, and would create an unattractive building. Chris Black moved refusal on the single problem of the window design, and won the vote overwhelmingly. So the two extra flats were refused.
Could I be bold enough to ask a question that may be trivial to our local district council but crucial to the people that live in this district. Does the head of planning and transportation really know what is going on in OUR district, does he know how many houses he has given permission to build, how many has been built and the libel laws stops me from asking the third question!!!!!
Hi Mike – the question about the number of homes being built in 2007 isn’t trivial because it should be included in the overall total of 4600 homes required ….
It should be included in the 4600 homes being built in 2007 + however the council gives no one any confidence when it is unable to to give a figure of how many houses he has given permission to build in our district. We need a council who can give answers such as the one that has been asked when it is asked. Again it is not rocket science it is being pro active and having a handle on decisions you make. Not being in control is not an option, when you make decisions that affect the community then you have RESPONSIBILITY for those decisions. You can NOT hide behind comments that we will not know until December ‘2007’ How late is that!
Mike – referring to the number of homes built so far in the district in 2007 , it’s clear that precise, legally acceptable figures won’t be available for a while. However I would expect that an estimate could be prepared. Any blame for not having that available now should really be attached to the ruling group of councillors, rather than to an officer.
If the Lib Dems were leading the council, I’m sure we would have asked the officers to produce an estimated figure. It’s a significant item of information.
Chris, It is inconceivable that the council have no idea whatsoever of how many houses have been given the green light and those that have been built need to be passed by the council authorities before they become available to the public. I get they feeling we are being played for mugs. Either that or the Town Planner has lost all control of development and that really would be of interest to the residents. Even an educated guess must be on the cards. I am going to raise a few questions at the next West Area meeting.