CMS Attempt To Bend The Planning Rules Again

Our most recent haul of documents obtained under the Freedom Of Information Act, shows an attempt by the Chelmsford Muslim Society (through their agent Arrow Planning), to once again bypass the normal planning process, in relation to the use of the Hamptons Sports and Leisure Centre.

The CLOPUD Application

On the 18/05/22 an application was submitted for a Certificate of Lawful Proposed Uses and Development

A good half of the applicant’s planning statement is copied and pasted from their previous CLEUD application (Certificate of Lawful Existing Uses and Development) which the council refused on 29/10/21, but there were two distinct new proposed uses:

• Use of the area edged orange at ground floor level would be used for occasional religious celebrations (i.e. births, deaths, marriages and religious holidays for all faiths). It is estimated that this would amount to a maximum of 15-20 separate days per year. The space would be available for other community functions and indoor sports at other times. A small room at ground floor level is proposed to be used for body washing in connection with any funerals that take place. This would involve the body being bought into the room washed, a short ceremony would take place and then the body would be removed.

• Use of the area edged yellow at first floor level for a pop-up medical clinic for the whole community. Typical uses would include consultation and medical examinations, collecting blood and other samples, minor surgeries such as wart removal, skin tags, lumps and scar revisions etc. - other uses would also take place in this space when the clinic was not in use.

  
  

Pre-Application

So for any planning application, you are entitled to pay for , and receive pre-application advice from council officers. And in this case, we have a number of emails going back and forth from planning to the agent, Arrow Planning, like this one:

Determination

Normally just 56 days are allowed for determination, but as usual, the council failed miserably, taking 135 days to reach a fairly simple decision.

We did specifically ask the council by email on 17/08/22 (as did other residents), if they had asked for any additional information, which they refused to confirm or deny. And here’s the proof that they did request additional information:

This information was never uploaded to the application documents, and residents were denied the right to examine and challenge the evidence, handing the applicant a huge advantage.

Decision Time

So it’s normal practice for the applicant to be notified the day before the decision is made public, and this was the case here, with the council emailing Arrow Planning (Robert Harrison) on 29/09/22. And here’s Arrow’s response :

It does rather seem that the applicant is unhappy, because he wasn’t allowed to “tweak” the application, once he learned of it’s refusal. allowing the council to pass it, by removing the Ghusl and funeral facilities, and the circumcision clinic. That’s not how the planning process works, Mr Harrison !

And it wasn’t long before Ayman Syed, chair of CMS, chipped in :

And after a call back from Planning, he responded again.

We are a little confused about the “community service” which Ayman thinks has been removed. Just to clarify:

1. We think he is referring to a booking at the Marconi club shortly after it opened, where the body of local resident was present at a celebration of his life. It’s not a regular occurence.

2. The currently building has only been open 10 years, anything that happened in the old building is not relevanr here.

3. The CLOPUD refusal does not prevent this from happening in the future, merely the storage and washing of bodies onsite, and the creation of a Ghusl facility.

4. The communities that traditionally have the body present at a wake, would require a bar, which CMS closed in 2020.

And again, he’s happy to remove the body washing element to allow approval. That’s not how the planning process works, Mr Syed !

A resubmission ?

CMS/Arrow intend to resubmit this application, with a few tweaks. Removing the proposed uses (funerals and the medical clinic), then makes the application about existing uses, and would be a CLEUD application ( Certificate of Lawful Existing Uses and Development), which the council previously refused last year.

And let’s not forget that the massive increase in the use of the venue for religious education by the Makarim Academy, would be included, and would tip the balance of uses to make a full planning application necessary !

seconds out - round 3

KBO