Just Unbelievable !
On 04/11/20 we sent the following email to all 57 Chelmsford City Councillors and 12 Great Baddow Parish Councillors. A few councillors answered fairly quickly, and on the 10/11/20 we received this email from Nick Eveleigh , Chief Executive at Chelmsford City Council. Pay particular attention to the section highlighted in bold.
“Hamptons Sports and Leisure
I am responding on behalf of all Councillors to the email that you sent regarding the current uses of Hamptons Sports and Leisure. There is no formal role for Councillors as regards this site or indeed in the vast majority of planning issues. Were there to be concerns about planning enforcement, that is dealt with by planning enforcement officers, and were there to be a planning application that would initially be dealt with by planning officers. Only a small minority of planning applications ever come to Councillors to be determined.
Therefore, I advise that any future queries on the subjects raised in this letter should be directed to the Council’s Planning Department and not to any Councillors.
I am aware that this is a matter of local interest and that a group known as Save the Hamptons has been formed. However, we will only respond to any future correspondence on this subject if communications are sent by named individuals, so that we can satisfy ourselves that these are indeed residents of the District.
Turning now to the issues raised in your email and in the video.
The Planning and Legal Services Departments of Chelmsford City Council are of the view that the current uses of the premises do not require a grant of planning permission.
We have come to the conclusion that the extent of current worship / religious teaching related use is not significant, given the wider, lawful, community use of the premises. This is based on our understanding of the extent of the current related worship use being (i) of part of the building on Fridays for a period of an hour to an hour and a half (or thereabouts) for prayers, and (ii) of a room on Saturday mornings by an external organisation (IQRA) for education, including some religious teaching.
It does not matter whether the use for religious activity is by members of CMS or an external hire. As long as it is a small part of the overall use of the building, it does not require planning permission or a certificate to state that the current uses are lawful.
Judgements of this kind come down to a matter of fact and degree, and any increased worship or religious teaching (above that set out above) may well need a formal grant of planning permission.
Earlier this year CMS set out (in writing to the Council) proposed future use of the premises. This would have a greater amount of worship / religious teaching related use. That additional religious activity would, in the opinion of officers, not be permitted under the current planning use, and therefore would need a formal grant of planning permission. Of course, CMS only need apply for planning permission if they want to change the use as set out above, and they are under no obligation to apply, now or at any time in the future.
The advice given at that time remains the same. Namely, that they should submit a planning application if they are intending to extend the religious use. If approved, that would give CMS the flexibility and legitimacy for longer term use of the building, which is likely to be required. As previously indicated, our advice is that they should consult a suitably experienced planning agent, who would be able to act for them through the application process.
The advice in this letter is given at officer level and does not represent a formal determination as to the need or otherwise for planning permission.
Additionally, we are aware of concerns about parking issues in the area, but these are being addressed separately by the South Essex Parking Partnership team.
Yours sincerely
Nick Eveleigh
Chief Executive Chelmsford City Council”
A change in position ?
We are a little confused by this email, since on the 23/09/20 the Planning Department issued this email to the many residents who reported the breach of planning control.
We will of course take this up with the planning department, but we have responded to Nick Eveleigh:
Dear Mr Eveleigh,
Thank you for your response dated 10/11/20 on behalf of the Chelmsford City councillors. We were surprised by your email, since a number have responded themselves. It does seem unusual that the Chief Executive would involve himself in a planning issue.
The purpose of our email was for information purposes, and to counter some of the rather carefully selected (and incorrect) information being circulated by council officials, Essex Police and the Chelmsford Muslim Society. Should we need to revisit the process at a later date, we will continue to contact our elected councillors as we see fit.
We note your comments on the council’s position regarding the requirement to submit a planning permission to allow worship. This is substantially different to the email sent out on the 23/09/20 by the Planning Department to residents. We will be contacting them directly to ask for an explanation. This change in position does seem highly irregular.
The really sad thing about the long term occupancy of the Main Hall on Fridays for congregational worship, is that it will exclude the hugely popular Friday Tea Dance (once the pandemic restrictions are lifted) .This long established activity is vital to a great many of the elderly residents and club members, and for some is their only real social contact every week. This is exactly why we are fighting to preserve the community use at the venue.
Far from being just a protest group, we do have a suggestion for you to consider, which would resolve this issue and provide some additional leisure facilities and rentable community space for Great Baddow.
https://www.savethehamptons.co.uk/a-better-solution
We will of course share any replies that we receive.
some points to consider:
Why is the Chief Executive answering on behalf of your elected councillors ?
Why has the council’s position changed ?
Why haven’t residents been notified, as the Planning Department promised to do ?
Why are the council seeking to deny your right to a full consultation and a planning hearing ?
Why is the council so invested in assisting a private business rather than listening to the views and needs of local residents ?
Given the involvement of Legal Services and now the Chief Executive, does the council have something to hide ?
At a recent meeting of the Great Baddow Parish Council on 09/11/20, no mention was made of our email to all 12 parish councillors.