Last year there was a planning application by Shepherd offshore to put a whole host of housing on the site of La Sagesse School. Details and links and stuff is available on the
Jesmond Action Group website . The Council came to the correct decision and rejected it. I haven't been following this obsessively closely - but I think The original Application from October 2011 is
this one for 60 dwellings.
As expected, Shepherd Offshore came back with another application which I think is
this one- the headline number on the application if for 59 dwellings .
There is an extra meeting of the pLanning Committee tomorrow ( 4th january) .
See this - its my dormer , erected in 1995.
Hmmmm. I bet they didnt even think about putting an a special meeting for me when my rear dormer had to go to planning twice before getting approval. What has Shepherd got that I havent ?
The decision from the planners to approve this 2nd application seems perverse to me. There are only a few cosmetic changes to the application , it still puts a load of un-needed housing on an attractive site , detracts from Jesmond Towers building and will be an ugly blot in one of the most densely populated Wards in the City.
And Jesmond Action Group are on to it . They too think its perverse , but their advantage is that they have a couple of lawyers involved. So there has been some correspondence with the Council - I'll watch out on the JAG website for them to appear .
But there is acopy of the email that has gone to councillors
Dear Councillors
I am unsure whether you will have
received a copy of the letter from Kath Lawless sent to our Group dated
3rd January 2013. I attach a copy . This letter is in response to our
letter to the Council dated 31st December 2012. I attach a copy of that
letter too for ease of reference.
If you have
not already had an opportunity to do so, I urge you to read these 2
letters side-by-side. Once you have done so, I hope that you will reach
the same conclusion that we have, which is that Kath Lawless's letter
simply brushes-over the specific legal arguments that we raise, and does
not even begin to address them.
I do not know
what qualifications Kath Lawless has, but she has many years of
experience, and is clearly highly qualified in Planning matters.
However, I do not think that she is a lawyer. (my apologies if she is)
I am dually qualified as a barrister and as a solicitor. The
arguments that we raised in our letter, were legal arguments that will
give grounds for Judicial Review. Kath Lawless has responded with the
best intentions, but she has not addressed any of the legal arguments.
Crucially, neither has she argued why, in the opinion of the Council,
our legal arguments should not apply. As a lawyer, I am happy to have
my opinions swayed by persuasive legal arguments. In this case, I have
to confirm to you that our legal arguments remain as strong as they were
when our letter was drafted. With the greatest respect to Kath
Lawless, she is wrong in her interpretation of the law and planning
policy; the Council should have engaged a barrister or a solicitor to
respond to our letter.
My conduct as a
solicitor is regulated by The Solicitors Regulation Authority. (SRA)
The SRA rules specifically prohibit me from raising spurious legal
arguments if it is plain that those arguments have no foundation. If I
were to raise such arguments, the SRA have the power to bring
disciplinary proceedings against me, and apply sanctions.
If
the Planning Committee are minded to grant this application tomorrow,
the Council will still face the litigation and costs risks that were set
out in our letter of 31st December 2012. Those risks remain
undiminished. You have an opportunity to reduce that risk by amending
the application in line with paragraph 33 of our letter. You have an
opportunity to extinguish the risk entirely by voting against the
applications. The applicant can still come back another day, with a
fresh application that complies with the relevant planning policies and
legislation.
I cant get to the meeting tomorrow ( if i wasnt working i would have gone ) , but I'll watch with interest.
And a few more thoughts.
- I'm happy to chip to a 'fighting fund' to take this to Judicial Review if necessary
- If approved, Labour must have a death-wish as far as North jesmond Councillors are concerned. They will get as big a well-deserved kicking locally as the LibDems will nationally in a General Election.
And i'll happily do my ( non-party) bit to ensure that the ruling Labour Group get well and truly kicked.
