A LETTER sent by a law firm acting on behalf of developers who want to build on Green Belt land at Warrington has been branded as “grossly insulting.”
Cllr Chris Vobe is furious over the letter sent to the borough council’s planning department on behalf of Elan Homes Ltd.
The letter suggests that objections from more than 280 residents to proposals for 25 houses on the former HMS Gosling camp site, off Lady Lane, Croft, are of little consequences.
It states: “The various objection forms generated by Councillor Vobe… should be accorded very limited weight”.
Cllr Vobe retorted: “Only a company with such staggering levels of ignorance as Elan Homes could say that the mass of objections to this scheme by Croft residents should be accorded ‘limited weight.’
“So far, 286 individual residents of Croft have added their name to my petition against this development. These are people who live in the village, send their children to school here, and will have to live with the after-effects if this development goes ahead.
“This letter to the council’s planning department, which was passed to me, is nothing short of grossly insulting. It takes no account of the impact of this development on the village, and fails to address many of the legitimate concerns we have.
“Elan Homes have proved once and for all that they do not care about the community that they are trying to foist their houses upon. They just want to make a quick buck and then move on to the next development. Why else would they dismiss so many objections out of hand?”
Cllr Vobe says residents should attend the council’s development management committee meeting on August 23 when the future of the site will next be considered.
Members of the committee have already put off a decision once to give time to inspect the site.
Cllr Vobe added: “This is not ‘nimbyism’ or a ‘namby-pamby’ approach to the spectre of development; it is a genuine desire by local people to protect our heritage, and put a halt to a scheme which would cause major traffic problems on an already-congested route.
“I hope that local people will join me at the Town Hall on August 23 to show the strength of feeling about these plans. All eyes will be on the planners, who I am urging to make the right decision for Warrington.”
Pictured: Cllr Vobe at the site entrance with the offending letter.
Developers' letter grossly insulting
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Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
5 Comments
Unless things have changed the company is sort of right when thye say ” “The various objection forms generated by Councillor Vobe… should be accorded very limited weight”. Petitions generally only ever count as one objection as do pre-formatted, worded and duplicated letters which are simply individually signed by people. The 286 who signed his petition would have had far more clout if they’d just sent in their own worded objection however small and brief. Would have thought being a councillor he should have been aware and advised them to do that too.
If Cllr Vobe actually knew as much as he thinks he does then he would know that Dizzy is right – petitions only carry the weight of one objection as it is easy to get people to sign them and often names are made up or added to with people from out of the area. He would have been better encouraging individual letters of objection instead. I also think it is rich claiming history and heritage – nobody has been the slightest bit bothered before when it was fenced off and left to go to ruin. It all sounds a bit convenient to me.
Reflex and Dizzy, you are wrong. Chris Vobe has provided a basic template for individual objections to every single resident in Croft. From there, people have been encouraged to write their own objections on the forms and make their views known ‘in their own words’. What has been submitted to the council, then, is not one sole petition (which would only count as a single objection however many names it had on it) but hundreds of bespoke forms which, if you read the council’s own paperwork, are being classed as individual objections. In fact, the whole ethos of Chris Vobe’s campaign has been for folk to make their own worded objections, exactly for the reasons you state. His comments about the attitude of the developers are spot on.
You obviously can’t read! The story quotes Cllr Vobe: “So far, 286 individual residents of Croft have added their name to my petition against this development”. So it’s a petition – plain and simple. Its 1 objection not 286, whichever way you/Cllr Vobe (or are you one and the same?) try to present it. Mistake and a missed opportunity if you ask me – just face it.
Does this sort of logic also mean that if the 285 people who have signed the petition made their way to the meeting in say six buses, would then collectively considered as 6 objectors and not 285? It’s odd the yougov website has and invites many petitions on a variety of topics, none suggest that all those who have put their names forward for those petitions are then treated as though say 5000 signatures = 1.