Planners have not learned lesson
NOT being a member of Forest Heath Council's planning committee, I attended a recent meeting as an interested observer.
The committee rejected an application for a truck stop at Red Lodge and deferred a decision on the Arborfield development and the proposed Majestic Wine warehouse, both in Newmarket, contrary to officers' recommendations.
The spokesman for the Arborfield development seemed to suggest and presume that, following discussions and understandings with experts in the planning department, the application merely required rubber stamping.
Clearly, he misunderstood the local democratic process and did not realise that officers are employees of the elected council.
Equally, Forest Heath planners appear not to have learned The Gables lesson – that residents do not want inappropriate residential or commercial developments.
It would save time and money for developers and the council if applicants were advised that designs and materials of buildings must be sympathetic and complimentary to the existing surroundings.
It is probable that both the A14 and A11 require truck stop facilities. One site could serve both roads without the possibility of large trucks accessing the facility by travelling on minor roads, as would seem inevitable at the Red Lodge site.
Alternatively, each road might have separate truck stops but this might not be on the few miles of the A14 and A11 within Forest Heath, making it a matter for the county council.
The attendance of some 70 people interested in the truck stop application was indicative of the opposition to the proposal on health and local amenity grounds.
The occasional spontaneous burst of applause at councillors' comments showed that members were acting in residents' best interests.
Andrew Appleby
Fordham Road
Newmarket
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Friday 25 May 2012
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