Emotions ran high at last night's (January 18) council meeting when they learnt they had not been notified of a controversial planning inquiry to which they had objected.
Haslemere Town Council had formally objected to developer Redwood (South West) Ltd getting planning permission for an additional 111 new homes at its Scotland Park development and a new scouts headquarters at Red Court in Scotland Lane, Haslemere.
But due to a “technical fault” at Waverley Borough Council, 440 objectors and several statutory bodies including the town council and Haslemere South Residents Association were not notified about the public session on the first day of the ten day inquiry.
The council were furious at the oversight which they felt were "undemocratic" and harmed the argument's set forward by those who object to the development.
Read the full letter sent to WBC from Haslemere Town Council below:
At last night's full council meeting, councillors were unanimous in voicing their astonishment and anger that such an oversight could take place, especially relating to such a highly controversial application which has attracted more than 400 objections, including that of the town council.
To have only notified those people who originally supported the plan is felt by my council to be incredibly undemocratic and they are not at all satisfied that enough is being done by Waverley to address the issue. It really defies belief that this situation could have arisen and my councillors are asking for the following as a matter of urgency:
- A full explanation of how this situation arose. Exactly what 'technical fault' which meant that only supporters of the scheme were notified?
- A formal apology to the council and the town for the woefully unacceptable way in which this has been handled.
- That the planned Zoom meeting on 23rd January is cancelled and a suitable time and place found for an in-person session, as should have been provided in the first instance.
I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.
It will be up to the planning inspector to decide whether or not an in-person meeting will be rescheduled but the inspector has agreed to hold a Zoom session at 10am on Tuesday, January 23.
This session is open to anyone who would have wished to attend or participated earlier in proceedings. The inspector will also accept written statements, submitted by 10am on Tuesday, January 23 January, if any individual is unable to attend the virtual session but still wants to submit their position in writing.
Please contact Waverley Borough Council to register your attendance of this session of the Inquiry at [email protected] or phone 01483 523144.
The Zoom meeting details are as follows:
Meeting ID: 868 4538 8203
Passcode: 502917