Church Fields inquiry gets underway
THE first day of the Church Fields inquiry saw more than 100 villagers fill Boston Spa Village Hall.
Although no evidence was heard and the main purpose of the three-hour session was to deal with administrative matters, local residents turned out to show their objections to the proposed development.
The first session of the inquiry was not without controversy, as residents booed some statements made by Peter Village QC, representing developer Taylor Wimpey.
When parish council chairman David Thomson asked the inquiry whether residents would be permitted to circulate images to illustrate their concerns when speaking on future days, Mr Village said he did not find it acceptable to be presented with information without time to look at it before the inquiry.
He said: "I'm very disappointed about this. We made it clear at the inquiry hearing that we would be making copies of evidence available at the local library.
"The evidence was taken to the council on March 2. Spare copies were taken to third parties on March 2. I can't for the life of me understand why the parish council say it was not until last Friday that they got it. I can't understand why it's not to all parties that we have reasonable prior site of the parish council's evidence."
Coun Thomson replied: "I understand where Mr Village is coming from but the fact of the matter is the evidence was not available until last Friday at the very earliest."
Planning inspector Chris Gossop said he appreciated the difficulties the parish council had in providing responses to documents they had only seen five days prior to the inquiry beginning but asked for documents to be provided to all parties at the earliest possible opportunity.
Additional time
On being presented with new documents, Dr Gossop said he would require additional time to read through them before he was ready to proceed with the inquiry, proposing a two-day adjournment.
He added: "I'm not just concerned about myself, I'm concerned about the people in this room."
Villagers cheered this statement but Mr Village asked for the case to continue without a break.
He said: "I really resist an adjournment of that length and I think it would be unfair on the appellant. Unless we can find an immediate date very shortly after April 1, it would be unfair on my clients who have been waiting a long time for this appeal to be heard."
Immediate cries of objection were heard from the public and Dr Gossop insisted the adjournment was neccessary.
Mr Village said: "You mentioned you were concerned about third parties. They can jeer and shout and boo and hiss as much as they want and it really will be water off a duck's back. What I would like to say is they have been fully aware of the availability of this evidence for a long time."
The parties agreed to hold the inquiries on additional days which had not been included in the original schedule to avoid the inquiry running past Easter. Dr Gossop heard opening statements from both sides and set an approximate schedule for the various issues to be discussed over the next two weeks.
Schedule
Monday, March 22 from 11.30am - Strategic matters including land release and housing policy
Tuesday, March 23 from 10am - Strategic matters including land release and housing policy
Wednesday, March 24 from 10am - Effect of the proposed development on the region including regeneration of urban areas
Thursday, March 25 from 10am - Effect of the proposed development on the region including regeneration of urban areas
Friday, March 26 from 10am - Impact on Boston Spa including the conservation area and design
Monday, March 29 from 11.30am - Arboriculture and landscaping issues, along with any other matters including transport, education, Section 106
Wednesday, March 31 from 10am - Other issues including transport, education, Section 106
Thursday, April 1 from 10am - Closing statements from both parties, ward councillors and parish council
Each topic will see evidence given by an expert representing either Leeds City Council or Taylor Wimpey, before questioning by the opposing party and the inspector. The parish council plans to ask local residents to speak on a topic-by-topic basis to represent the village's views on each issue.
The inquiry is open to the public and will be held at Boston Spa Village Hall, with a site visit and other local visits expected to be carried out by the inspector during the course of the next fortnight.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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