Earlier this week I wrote to St.Albans District Council's Planning Department seeking clarification on the un-approved Green Belt development associated with the new Westminster Lodge project. For background, here is a quick summary of my understanding of this issue based on my research so far:
Here is a visual guide that hopefully makes all of this a bit clearer:
Alan Moorhouse, Council's non-political Development Control Manager, has made no secret of this. In his comprehensive report on the new project's planning application (which can be found included in the meeting agenda document here) he states (p43 under 'Metropolitan Green Belt', my emphasis):
By 'very special circumstances' I believe he is referring to terminology used in Government planning rules, and in particular to the rules in Planning Policy Guidance 2: Green belts (also known as PPG2). Basically, he's saying in the report that in this case the Council believe that 'very special circumstances' exist to justify the overspill, that he agrees with them, and that it will therefore be OK for them to proceed with the new building (though here at PoolTooSmall I must say we can't see anything special about the circumstances of having to borrow masses of cash to build a poor value-for-money leisure centre based on an inadequate assessment of water-space needs and a stage-managed tick-box community consultation). However, special circumstances aside, Government rules on Green Belt development (PPG2) state, in paragraph 3.3 (my emphasis):
Given Alan Moorhouse's statement above that this development is indeed 'inappropriate' then it seems to me that PPG2 may be saying that the new project would have to be referred to the Secretary of State. This is why I have written to Alan Moorhouse to seek clarification. In the meantime, as ever, anyone with any further information, views, corrections or expertise in this area is more than welcome to contact us (I make no claim for professional expertise in planning- I am just a nerd). |
Announcements: >