The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
“Astonished” Long Sutton Parish Council is seeking a judicial review over a planning decision by South Holland District Council.
The parish council was angered by the way an application for 87 eco homes on the former Butterfly and Wildlife Park was handled.
The parish council said: “The council have made an official complaint to the district council and the ombudsman.
“They will also seek a judicial review.
“At an Extraordinary Meeting of the parish council, they agreed to take this action and resolve to allocate the necessary funds to proceed with the legal action.
“We will, on behalf of our parishioners, continue to fight on their behalf.”
The action follows the district council first granting planning permission for a variation of a condition last November. That was to replace one sustainability code (Level 6 of the code for Sustainable Homes) with another (Level 6 EN1 Energy and Carbon Dioxide Emission Standards of the Code For Sustainable Homes).
However, Long Sutton Parish Council immediately challenged the decision. The district council’s planning department took legal advice and admitted that an error had been made “in terms of the information presented to the committee about the differences to the development that would result from the amended condition”.
The application by Moor Solar Ltd came back before the committee this month.
Some of the argument surrounded the fact the proposed new condition was not legislation yet, it was only at consultation stage.
Long Sutton district councillor Andy Tennant said there was no getting away from the fact it had been “quite an unpopular” application in Long Sutton but he didn’t see any major transformation in the condition variance and moved the officers’ recommendation to grant approval. They said the development was still “inherently and demonstrably sustainable”.
Fellow ward member David Wilkinson disagreed with Coun Tennant.
“I think it does make a big difference,” he said. “It’s chipping away at conditions.
“They sell us a Rolls Royce but it’s not going to be as high grade as it should have been.”
The parish council said last week: “Condition 3 of the original application was a major factor in the approval because it would ensure the high specifications were met and was the excuse to allow the development and departure from the 2006 Local Plan.”
A vote by the planning committee on February 11 was tied 7-7, with chairman Coun Roger Gambba-Jones using his casting vote to pass the plan.
