'Low standards' claim over housing approval

Published on 29th March 2007 in News

A Goole Town councillor has this week hit out at the East Riding of Yorkshire Council's (ERYC) handling of plans to build housing developments in Goole - and has been so outraged by what he claims is the 'unlawful bias' shown by the council that he has made a number of complaints to the Local Government Ombudsman.

Cllr Kester Dean has made three complaints to the Local Government Ombudsman about ERYC's handling of Peter Ward Homes estates at Sir Len Hutton Drive, St George's Green and Carr Lane, all of which are in Goole, claiming that the approval of such developments suggest to him that the council applies 'lower planning standards' to the town than the rest of the county.

Cllr Dean's most recent complaint centres on the building of 84 residential properties in Carr Lane, a site which was formerly an old orchard full of mature trees and hedgerows.

"Over 200 residents objected, raising concerns about traffic, drainage and the destruction of wildlife, but the ERYC decided to proceed anyway," said Cllr Dean.

"The site was formerly under a ban on development, but the council decided to change its policy and Peter Ward Homes started to clear vegetation from the site before the decision was made public. Then residents received notice of the planning application after much of the site had already been cleared."

Cllr Dean added that he complained to the Ombudsman about the latest scheme because residents were made aware of the planning application only after much of the site had already been cleared in preparation, and hoped the three complaints he had made about planning matters would convince the ERYC to 'think again' about planning in Goole.

He said: "Too often, much lower planning standards are applied in Goole than other places. It seems to me that ERYC often comes down on individuals' building extensions and the like, but the big boys seem to do as they like.

"That's totally unacceptable, unfair and discriminatory. I consider it is a scar on local government that must be removed."

* A spokesperson for East Riding of Yorkshire Council told the Goole Times that the site in question was allocated for development under the Boothferry Borough Local Plan in 1997, and that a greenfield moratorium was introduced in 2003.

The spokesperson said: "Three sites in Goole and three in Howden were released, including the Carr Lane site, as they were judged suitable for a number of reasons.

"The council's tree and hedgerow section was in contact with the developer to make sure that any protected hedges were not lost in the clearance of the site. The council has explained previously there were no planning controls available to it that would have prevented Peter Ward Homes stripping the Carr Lane site of vegetation.

"The council refutes any suggestion that any developer is given preferential treatment or that lower development standards are applied to any part of the East Riding."