High Court Judge quashes greenbelt planning application for 3 marquees issued in “error” by Wirral Council in 2011
High Court Judge quashes greenbelt planning application for 3 marquees issued in “error” by Wirral Council in 2011
Cllr Phil Gilchrist (front) speaking at the Extraordinary meeting of Wirral Council on 4th April 2016 who chaired the Planning Committee referred to below in 2010
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Will two overlooked covenants for “enjoyment of light” prevent a fire station at Saughall Massie from happening?
Will two overlooked covenants for “enjoyment of light” prevent a fire station at Saughall Massie from happening?
Planning Committee (Wirral Council) site visit Saughall Massie fire station 18th July 2017 This photo shows properties with windows facing the proposed fire station
Today I read Land Registry title number MS503610 which covers various properties and includes thirteen of the properties owned by Wirral Partnership Homes Limited (who trade as Magenta Living) that are adjacent to the proposed fire station in Saughall Massie.
One of the entries in title MS503610 states the following:
“5. The right to the unimpeded access and enjoyment of light and air to all windows in the buildings now on the Retained Land from or over such part of the Property provided that nothing expressed or implied in this Transfer shall prevent the Transferee from developing the Property.”
A week tomorrow (2nd October 2017) Wirral Council’s Cabinet meets in Committee Room 1 at Wallasey Town Hall starting at 10.00 am. On the agenda is a report in Cllr Phil Davies’ name to Cabinet that recommends not only is the new Strategic Regeneration Framework agreed as policy but also recommends to Council that the Strategic Regeneration Framework is adopted as a “material planning consideration” and that it’s used in the Core Strategy Local Plan.
So what does this mean? If the Strategic Regeneration Framework (which includes the Hoylake Golf Resort project) is adopted as a planning policy by Wirral Council, then this will be a material consideration in favour of approving any future planning application for the Hoylake Golf Resort that the Planning Committee will decide upon.
At the moment due to the greenbelt nature of the site proposed for the Hoylake Golf Resort, Wirral Council’s planning policies only allow development in “very special circumstances”.
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ICO require Wirral Council to release 94 page draft agreement with Nicklaus Joint Venture Group Limited about Hoylake Golf Resort
ICO require Wirral Council to release 94 page draft agreement with Nicklaus Joint Venture Group Limited about Hoylake Golf Resort
ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) logo
Updated 27.2.18 with an amendment to paragraph 3 of the decision notice following First-tier Tribunal (information rights) case EA/2017/0191.
Edited 10.8.17 by JB to include text of decision notice below images of pages
ICO have required Wirral Council to disclose 94 pages of a draft development agreement between itself and the Nicklaus Joint Venture Group Limited in respect of the proposed golf course, hotel and residential property in Hoylake. This project is known as the Hoylake Golf Resort and the proposed development involves the sale of and leasing of Wirral Council owned land to the developer.
Wirral Council have 35 calendar days (from the 7th August 2017) to provide the information or alternatively they can appeal ICO’s decision to the First-tier Tribunal (Information Rights) within 28 days.
ICO ruled that a further 29 pages of legal advice that Wirral Council received from Pinsent Masons about the Hoylake Golf Resort project did not need to be disclosed.
You can read the full 14 page decision notice (FER0672223) below.
FER0672223 Hoylake Golf Resort (Wirral Council) Page 1 of 14
Reference: FER0672223
Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR)
Decision notice
Date:
7 August 2017
Public Authority:
Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council
Address:
Town Hall
Brighton Street
Wallasey
Merseyside
CH44 8ED
Complainant:
John Brace
Address:
Jenmaleo
Jenmaleo
134 Boundary Road
Bidston
CH43 7PH
Decision (including any steps ordered)
The complainant has requested information relating to the Hoylake Golf Resort Project. Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council withheld the information under the exceptions for the course of justice (regulation 12(5)(b)) and commercial confidentiality (regulation 12(5)(e)).
The Commissioner’s decision is that Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council has correctly applied regulation 12(5)(b) to withhold some of the requested information but failed to demonstrate that regulation 12(5)(e) is engaged.
The Commissioner requires the public authority to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation.
● Disclose pages 43-146 of the Private Document Pack.
The Tribunal requires Wirral Metropolitan Council to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation –
Disclose the Amended Annotated Development Agreement at pages 256 – 351 of the Closed Bundle prepared for the appeal hearing, save the passages annotated in green and any marginal green notes, which may be withheld. The Commissioner’s order at paragraph 2 of the Decision Notice stands.
The public authority must take these steps within 35 calendar days of the date of this decision notice. Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the Act and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.
Why did Wirral Council’s planning department send out a decision letter about 3 marquees at Thornton Manor with no planning conditions?
Why did Wirral Council’s planning department send out a decision letter about 3 marquees at Thornton Manor with no planning conditions?
Cllr Phil Gilchrist (front) who chaired the Planning Committee meeting in 2010 that approved the application (photo is from 4th April 2016)
Published to very little fanfare yesterday, was a supplementary agenda containing a 12 page report to Wirral Council’s Planning Committee that meets on the 20th July 2017 starting at 6.00 pm in the Civic Hall at Wallasey Town Hall, Brighton Street, Seacombe, CH44 8ED.
It’s about the ongoing saga that are the marquees at Thornton Manor. In April 2010 Wirral Council received a planning application for the erection of three marquees within the Thornton Manor estate (referred to as The Dell, The Walled Garden and The Lake). These locations are in the greenbelt.
A Planning Committee held on the 21st July 2010 agreed to a site visit that was then held. There were petitions both against and in favour of the planning application being approved.
On the 7th September 2010, the Planning Committee met and approved it (on a 7:5 vote) subject to 10 planning conditions, a section 106 agreement and a referral to the Government Office of the North West.
The planning conditions ranged from no fireworks between January and July, the permission being only for five years from the date of the decision notice, the erection of a noise barrier and seven other conditions (that are detailed in the report).
Wirral Council then negotiated a section 106 agreement with the applicant and in May 2011 a draft decision notice (detailing all the conditions) was included with the draft section 106 agreement for signing by the applicant. This was published on Wirral Council’s website.
A further draft decision notice (listing all the conditions) was sent out in September 2011.
The final section 106 agreement was signed and sealed on the 11th November 2011.
At this point, a letter should’ve been sent to the applicant stating that the application was approved and listing the conditions (but wasn’t).
A letter was sent on the 20th December 2011 to the applicant stating that the planning application was approved (but listing no conditions whatsoever)!
This letter went out in the name of Kevin Adderley* (who at the time was the senior manager in charge of that section of Wirral Council). Just because it went out in Kevin Adderley’s name doesn’t mean he’d have had sight of it, just that he was paid for political accountability to politicians for what happened.
*Early retirement for Kevin Adderley was agreed in 2015 by a majority vote of councillors at a cost of £296,229.
This decision notice letter was received by the applicant on the 21st December 2011.
Then Wirral Council sought legal advice and were told that the grant of permission was the letter (without conditions) sent on the 20th December 2011.
Wirral Council cannot enforce the original conditions (agreed by the Planning Committee) as they weren’t in the decision notice letter and only what was in the section 106 agreement.
Another update to the Planning Committee will be given in August 2017 about Wirral Council’s view on whether the section 106 agreement is being complied with.
In the report Wirral Council state, “It has been impossible to identify whether this incident was a system error, human error or a combination of both.”
In other words the report author doesn’t really know why it happened! In future Wirral Council does promise that a senior manager or Team Leader will read all decision notices before they are posted to the applicant!
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