Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service recommend councillors on Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority appeal refusal of planning permission for Saughall Massie Fire Station to Planning Inspectorate

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service recommend councillors on Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority appeal refusal of planning permission for Saughall Massie Fire Station to Planning Inspectorate

Planning Committee meeting (Wirral Council) 15th December 2016 councillors voting to refuse planning permission for a fire station at Saughall Massie L to R Cllr Pat Cleary, Cllr Stuart Kelly, Cllr Ian Lewis, Cllr Kathy Hodson, Cllr Eddie Boult, Cllr David Elderton

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service recommend councillors on Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority appeal refusal of planning permission for Saughall Massie Fire Station to Planning Inspectorate

Planning Committee meeting (Wirral Council) 15th December 2016 councillors voting to refuse planning permission for a fire station at Saughall Massie L to R Cllr Pat Cleary, Cllr Stuart Kelly, Cllr Ian Lewis, Cllr Kathy Hodson, Cllr Eddie Boult, Cllr David Elderton
Planning Committee meeting (Wirral Council) 15th December 2016 councillors voting to refuse planning permission for a fire station at Saughall Massie L to R Cllr Pat Cleary, Cllr Stuart Kelly, Cllr Ian Lewis, Cllr Kathy Hodson, Cllr Eddie Boult, Cllr David Elderton

Last month councillors on Wirral Council’s Planning Committee rejected (by 7 votes in favour of refusal to 6 votes against refusal) a planning application for a fire station in Saughall Massie on land in the greenbelt on land off Saughall Massie Road.

Following the refusal of planning permission (on grounds of impact on residential amenity and on the greenbelt), a recommendation has been made by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service to councillors on the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority (who will meet in public) next Thursday afternoon (26th January 2017) to appeal the refusal of planning permission to the Planning Inspectorate and to submit a revised planning application.

The report to councillors on Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority criticises what ward councillor Councillor Chris Blakeley said at the Planning Committee meeting last month. The criticism relates to remarks the councillor made at the meeting about Upton Fire Station being a “fall-back” position, comments about the impact of a new fire station at Saughall Massie would have both on Arrowe Park Hospital and also what Cllr Blakleley stated about response times.

If the recommendation is approved by councillors on the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority the costs of producing the documentation for a revised planning application are estimated in the report as “in the region of £56,000” (which would include a detailed lighting impact assessment). The costs of legal advice, preparation and representation for an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate are estimated to cost between £36,500 and £49,000.

The item is the last item on the agenda (item 9) and is expected to be held in public starting at 1.00 pm on the 26th January 2017 in the Liverpool Suite, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters, Bridle Rd, Bootle, L30 4YD.

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Author: John Brace

New media journalist from Birkenhead, England who writes about Wirral Council. Published and promoted by John Brace, 134 Boundary Road, Bidston, CH43 7PH. Printed by UK Webhosting Ltd t/a Tsohost, 113-114 Buckingham Avenue, Slough, Berkshire, England, SL1 4PF.

18 thoughts on “Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service recommend councillors on Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority appeal refusal of planning permission for Saughall Massie Fire Station to Planning Inspectorate”

  1. A revised planning document will be around £56 thousand, and together with the cost of all the others before it, no wonder we paying though the nose for our council tax, and someone out there is laughing all the way to the bank.
    The money they are trying to save surely this has all been spent on planning applications and council meetings by now, its a bloody farce!
    There’s enough waste land in and around wirral they could build a new fire station on and yet they want to stick it on green belt saughall massie.

    1. The cost to Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service of the original planning application (and associated reports) was at least a six-figure sum.

  2. This is the game of Common Purpose that’s infested every single tier of public service, that is, they orchestrate their blue sky thinking, they have their hands on the levers, which, moreorless are the handles on a One Armed Bandit, they pull them, three bloody cherries emerge and we, their host body pay for their folly.
    It’s their game. They designed it and they play it without any hindrance from us. The design of the game ensures that the vast chain of Consultants and Legal people who survive from this arrangement wait and wait knowing that something will crop up that allows them to enter the game and get their big fat sweaty wedge of cash that’ll later be described as money well spent.
    No matter how fiscally knackered and bereft of hope we become, this game is designed to withstand the normal rules of responsible fiscal governance and matters like this issue will continue up and down our Country as they spend and spend because they are LinkedIn and they are deciples of Common Purpose who designed the game The Gravy Train.

  3. G’day John

    Will I see you there?

    Where?

    That favourite courthouse of ours over Kev and Stella’s Stinking Stagnant wirral Waters.

    Leaky and Cardin tell me there is a five day case.

    I will be there John just in case “Sir Git” “The Shyster” is there with his shiny arsed suit, plastic biro and highly paid, by the wirral public, barista from London in his Saville Row.

    Talking of SAVILLE Row I do wonder what this case might be all about.

    I will have to book leave for the five days.

    Oh ****!

    I forgot I haven’t been able to find anyone to employ a whistle blower since I met with AdderleyDadderleyDooLally and “The Chamber Potty” in July 2011.

    Ooroo

    James

    Hope to see you there “Tarrantino”.

  4. G’day John

    Don’t you love any of them being near a court house?

    They lose their swagger, they lose their strut, they lose their ****.

    They have no control like at the clown hall where they can say what they want, be racist to whoever they want, pay each other off, ignore ethical moral behaviour.

    They suddenly become mere mortals instead of the arrogant ******** they are in their crud and dross parties.

    Ooroo

    James

    Edited by JB 2.2.17 9:59 for bad language

  5. G’day John

    In the rubbish paper from over Kev and Stella’s Stinking Stagnant wirral Waters

    Watch protestors chanting over losing greenbelt land in their borough
    About 100 campaigners came together to oppose plans from St Helens Council to build thousands of homes on greenbelt land

    Isn’t that John where the great Burgesski went.

    I suppose when they sack him there with a massive pay off he will come to build houses on “Phil the Very Very Very Very Slimy, Elusive and Delude Dill’s” HOUSING RESORT on his GOLF ESTATE.

    Ooroo

    James

    Just sayin

  6. Wouldn’t it be amazing if, when ready to finally engage with justice…

    … somebody strong and brave, came up against a more senior somebody, not so strong, not so brave, but especially cunning and corrupted, who’d been up to no good in the day job as usual…

    …and who’d been tweaking the levers of power abuse to personal advantage, and this person went and manipulated those same levers in a different way, but this time, a way in which the end result was to cause a virtual one-armed bandit, which had been pre-loaded with public dosh, to spin frantically…

    …before stopping on three jackpot signs, and then to spill out its entire contents down the steps of the court and prevent the fair lady – in her sensible shoes and endeavouring to ascend them – to all of a sudden cling onto her hat, stumble, lose her grip and go tumbling down to the bottom of those stairs, and be buried in an ever-growing mountain of shiny coins and crisp notes, sourced from Wirral…

    …and the levers then leaned on again with a fat backside and thrust into overdrive, with the cash just continuing to pour, as in a biblical torrent, down onto the delighted individual and her partner, who are both now on the floor, writhing about, giggling, their legs cut from under them, struck dumb, prevented from speaking and dishing the dirt and instead, content to stay quiet and marvel, wide-eyed at their sudden good fortune, to count the contents of this mountainous pile, and to wonder also at the cause of this fortuitous turn of events, which they had never, ever planned for.

    Yeah, wouldn’t it be amazing?

  7. G’day John “Tarrantino” Brace

    Have you considered going on Question Time and ask what you really want to know?

    “Highbrow” is going to give it a go.

    Ooroo

    James

    Happy Australia Day my boy.

  8. G’day John

    Have you considered going to our favourite court house over Kev and Stella’s Stinking Stagnant wirral Waters in three sleeps.

    Ooroo

    James

    Might see ya there.

  9. G’day John

    Only one more sleep till I can see “The Shyster” “Sir Git” going into that court house over Kev and Stella’s Stinking Stagnant wirral Waters probably with his boy barista from London.

    I presume if he can ‘we’ will be excluded from the courtroom.

    I say ‘we’ meaning anyone who wants to watch them being honest.

    Ooroo

    James

    Hope to see ya there.

  10. G’day John

    In their ex-local rubbish propaganda sheet

    Twist in the tale as special meeting called after Wirral councillors are banned from asking questions over new business chief

    Ha ha ha ha ha

    This unpolitical £80,000.00 persons first idea will be to bring out the wirral instant scratchie to scratch his Uncle Joe’s back.

    Or alternatively LEPS’ backs.

    Ooroo

    James

    They are funny John no doubt.

  11. G’day John

    Had a couple of great days over Kev and Stella’s Stinking Stagnant wirral Waters.

    “Highbrow” sang to “Sir Git” yesterday so I told “Highbrow” it is “The Shyster’s” turn to SING today.

    Ooroo

    James

    This must be costing about £50,000.00.

    If only the electorate would show some interest and the media for that matter.

  12. You are doing a great job of keeping people informed on this issue. Probably only one in a thousand Wirral residents may read it, but I guess that most of the councillors and senior officers must sneak a look to see what is really going on.
    The Fire and Rescue Authority are obviously determined to have their way, and the authorities have so much money (for the things that they want) and so much influence that they usually get what they want.
    I assume that though this is a planning appeal there will be no public inquiry by a planning inspector. This is a pity because the facts being aired in public is the only way that this scheme will be shelved.

    1. Thanks for your comment.

      Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service have 6 months after the date of the decision about the planning application (made on the 15th December 2016) in which they can appeal the decision to the Planning Inspectorate.

      That means the latest date that MFRS can make an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate is the 14th June 2017.

      Following the decision of the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority to agree to this on the 26th January 2017, a new contract will have to be issued for the planning work involved (including the lighting impact assessment) and for legal advice sought on the merits of an appeal (and possibly representation for the appeal).

      So I’d expect it’d be next month at the earliest (probably more) before a revised planning application or appeal to the Planning Inspectorate is made. An appeal can only be on the planning application already decided though.

      How it is dealt with is up to the Planning Inspectorate, although the only experience I have of the Planning Inspectorate dealing with a similar matter (greenbelt application on Wirral for housing with lots of objectors) was that it was dealt with at an informal hearing held at Wallasey Town Hall.

      According to the Planning Inspectorate’s website from an appeal being filed to a decision normally takes around 19 weeks (although the length of time it takes partly depends on whether it’s dealt with by written representations, a hearing or an inquiry).

      A hearing or an inquiry will mean there would be a public meeting by a planning inspector as part of the process, however the written representations route doesn’t result in a public meeting.

      When MFRS make their appeal, on the appeal form they have to state which procedure they would find most appropriate and the reasons why.

      Annexe K (starting at page 74) is the criteria for which procedure is used.

      Due to the local interest this planning application has generated, I would guess it will be dealt with by a hearing or inquiry according to the criteria in Annexe K.

Comments are closed.