Statement From The Save The Hamptons Team.
From the outset, we have tried to engage with Chelmsford Muslim Society (the owners of Hamptons Sports and Leisure Club) to request further details regarding their proposals for the building and to understand their plans for the business going forward. We have received no response to the questions we asked (22/01/20 and 30/01/20), nor did they accept our invitations to attend our public meeting on 30/01/20.
The current situation is that the Hamptons has been used illegally as a Place of Worship every week since 31/07/20 (despite a concerted effort at concealment by the owners). This breach of planning control has been reported multiple times by multiple people, and is “under investigation”. The Planning Enforcement team so far have failed to act in any way to stop this.
It is absolutely clear that the building does not currently have planning permission for use as a Place of Worship, nor is there any valid case for exemption by demonstration of established use for worship. The scale of the proposals by the CMS clearly represents a material Change Of Use, we were therefore astonished to be advised that the Planning Department and Legal Services are currently considering whether a grant for Change Of Use is required at all.
This would allow use without any restrictions and deny the local community the opportunity for consultation which would undermine the core principles of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the planning control process itself.
Until such time that an assessment of whether a grant for Change Of Use is required, the illegal use of the Hamptons as a Place of Worship must cease. The fairest and only way to resolve this matter within the framework of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 will be by grant of permission for Change Of Use to include D1 Place of Worship.
We call upon Chelmsford City Council, the Planning Department and Legal Services to assess this situation fairly for all concerned and invite CMS to submit a Change Of Use application without further delay.
