As many of you will already be aware, the Planning Committee at Fenland have approved plans for a supermarket at the Benwick Road site. For various reasons I was not able to be part of the debate, however, it was one of the longest debates I can recall at planning committee and I totally respect the outcome.
My personal preference would have been to consider both of the applications at the same time. There is a history of planning applications for supermarkets being ultimately decided in court. Considering both together may have minimised the risk of this happening and could have helped to ensure a local decision.
However, even a decision made at a meeting where both were considered could have ended up in court - or be decided by the Secretary of State. People need to be aware that the decision made yesterday may not be the end of this and there is a possibility of court action or that the Secretary of State will have something to say.
Just to make my point, these links are for supermarket applications that have court involvement and are fairly current:
Dawlish
Stourport
Martin represents Whittlesey at Cambridgeshire County Council, a Fenland District Council and sits on Whittlesey Town Council.
Hi Martin,
ReplyDeleteI was just wondering what the "various reasons" were that prompted you to stand down from chairing this debate? Does this now mean you will not participate in any future planning committee meetings on any Whittlesey supermarket proposals?
Councillor Curtis
ReplyDeleteI read in the Cambs Times that you were at a Concert when the pubic Exhibition was being held in Whittlesey for this Supermarket, but you were conveniently available to attend the public Exhibition for Tesco also held in Whittlesey, I also saw you happily posing on the same page of a local Magazine with the Tesco logo, Considering these facts and your Blog comments, It would be un fair, and unprofessional for you to be involved in chairing any planning debate related to Whittlesey supermarkets, You are clearly a Tesco supporter!!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteA few things. You're right, I was out of the country when the Benwick Road public meeting took place and was available for the Tesco meeting. However, I did attend the presentation to Whittlesey Town Council for the Benwick Road development and did not attend the similar meeting that Tesco did - so I think that just about balances that out.
ReplyDeleteI wrote an article for Discovering Whittlesey which mentioned the two supermarket schemes, but I did not edit and put any logos on that page.
It is all very well deleting comments that do not appeal to you, but realistically Councillor Curtis the public are beginning to feel very uneasy with your actions running up to Supermarket Planning for Whittlesey. You have not attempted to answer John Elworthy’s question on why you did not chair the Benwick Road meeting.
ReplyDeleteIf you want your blog to be taken seriously, you must accept public opinions and comments, and deleting public comments from your blog that do not suit you is only going to cast further speculation.
This comment is not in any way written to be offensive, but my guess is you will delete in it the next few days!
The previous comments were deleted because they were either unrelated to the topic or were offensive.
ReplyDeleteI can hold my head up high over how I have behaved and that the suggestions about my views that have been made are not factually correct.
i hate people who are not from the town sticking there noses in to our business they have made a big enough mess of the town in the past without doing it again the town has gone to the dogs, i used to be a pretty and very well run place but im ashamed of it especilly it centre about time the local politions and coucilors took the blinks off and put the life back into this once pretty small fenland town
ReplyDelete