Computer Says No

Chelmsford City Council’s apparent lack of willingness to consider residents’ concerns regarding the CMS proposals for Hamptons continues, as they have now rejected our petition that called on the Council to enforce the documented breach of planning control.

On 23rd September of last year, the Council formally determined that following investigation of the use of Hamptons for the purposes of worship, planning permission was required. Read more on this here.

Their assessment confirmed that they would not enforce this breach of planning as the Council were expecting a regularising (retrospective) planning application to be submitted for this use, and claimed this approach to be “consistent with government guidance”. Six months later, and no such planning application has been submitted.

Whether or not it is consistent with Chelmsford City Council’s guidance, is another matter. A search of the Council’s planning portal paints a somewhat different picture, which demonstrates a more ruthlessness approach by the Council to enforcing planning breaches. Whilst the planning issues at Hamptons are somewhat unique, we found numerous other examples where enforcement was taken, and for far more trivial matters that have little or no potential to impact on the local amenity, in comparison to the issues surrounding Hamptons.

We also raised a Freedom of Information request, asking for details of other documented planning breaches where a similar approach was used. The Council’s response to this request, was that apparently the Council “does not record this information”. We find it hard to believe that the Planning Department does not record such information regarding decisions about documented planning breaches.

Over 500 people signed our petition for the Council to enforce the use of Hamptons as a breach of planning control, with the vast majority from within Chelmsford or the CM2 locality. We submitted our petition to the leader of the Council, Stephen Robinson, on 19th February 2021, and soon after we received the following response:

The petition as it was submitted to Councillor Robinson is not valid as it does not meet the requirements of the Council’s Petition Scheme. As it is a petition concerning a planning matter it is not covered by the Council’s Petitions Scheme. That Scheme excludes petitions relating to planning decisions as there are statutory processes for the submission and consideration of representations concerning planning matters.

We do not accept this response. As there has been no planning application submitted to date, (and therefore no formal “decision” either), residents have no means of making any representations on this matter. In a later email the Council claimed “representations” can include simply reporting any planning concerns which will be investigated - which is of course what has already been done and investigated, with the Council confirming that evidence “parallel to that submitted” was obtained and that planning permission is required.

Another recent petition submitted to the Council related to the proposed introduction of parking charges at Hylands Estate, which attracted over 7,500 signatures. This petition was presented at a Full Council meeting in February but provided very little in response to address the concerns raised. Ironically, in the same meeting, the 2021-22 budget was approved which included provision for the introduction of the parking charge, even before the Council’s own public consultation on this matter was due to finish on March 16th. The same consultation that did not even ask whether residents would be prepared to pay a charge and what amount. So much for “Have Your Say”, as the Council’s latest consultations are promoting. It’s difficult to see any evidence of where “Your Say” matters or makes any difference whatsoever.

In time since the Planning Departments initial assessment regarding Hamptons, they have further relaxed permitted uses at Hamptons by now allowing unrestricted numbers for weekly mass congregational worship and annual religious events within the current consent for the building. Read more on this here

With the proposed easing of Covid restrictions and the month of Ramadan (and two Eid festivals) approaching, the Council’s assessment that the use of Hamptons for worship will cause no harm to the local amenity may be due for its first real test.

We do plan to take the lack of enforcemnt further, and we will be in touch with everyone who signed the petition to ask them them to raise a formal complainr with the Planning Department.

TVO