BELGARUM has been around the block for many years in Winchester and seen lots of things, including scores if not hundreds of city council planning committees: from house extensions to the £150m Silver Hill scheme, Belgarum has seen them all.

One constant refrain at these meetings is that the committee must deal with each application on its 'own merits'; that the committee must not take into account other potential schemes for the same site. The chief planning officer Julie Pinnock regularly reminds the committee of this.

So Belgarum was slightly surprised by the comments of Matt Hutchings QC at the recent Cabinet committee.

Mr Hutchings is clearly an eminent planning lawyer to be a Queen's Counsel. He knows what he is talking about. The city council has hired him for advice and taken the highly unusual step of asking him to attend the recent scrutiny and Cabinet meeting to advise councillors on the controversial disposal of the River Park Leisure Centre.

Opponents of the disposal want alternative ideas (such as a Lido) to be considered now before the land is transferred to Southampton University. The city council and Mr Hutchings say that is not necessary as there will be time and opportunity for other ideas to be considered. According to the council minutes of Mr Hutchings' comments, "Furthermore, it was his case that the Planning Committee would be obliged to take into consideration, when looking at the grant of planning consent, any other proposed uses brought forward by individuals or bodies as viable suggestions. In this suggestion he was questioned by the Chair of the Committee but no withdrawal of his assertions was made."

Mr Hutchings was seemingly contradicting what Ms Pinnock has been saying for several years about the committee taking each application solely on its 'own merits'. Mr Hutchings says "the Planning Committee would be obliged to take into consideration, when looking at the grant of planning consent, any other proposed uses brought forward by individuals or bodies as viable suggestions". Has he told Ms Pinnock that?

So, what is it? The planning committee can take alternative ideas into consideration, or can't they? There will be lots of developers, interested parties, neighbours, opponents, consultants, taking a close interest in the comments.

 

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Kimberley Barber