“Carry On” Council jibe

Mar 17 2010 by Liam Murphy, Wallasey News

WIRRAL Council is holding a meeting for the third time after a blunder saw the public sent away before a planning application had been properly voted on.

Last month the council’s senior lawyer said he was looking into complaints after claims that a decision was only voted through after protestors had left a planning meeting.

Residents living near a proposed training centre for spraying motorcycles off Thirlmere Drive in Liscard had objected to an application to modify the premises.

However, the application will have to now be heard for a third time after a special meeting at Wallasey Town Hall was again unable to resolve the planning issue after following objections and a legal dispute.

The plans had been opposed by a petition of 90 signatures from separate households and the council received nine individual letters of objection, with “many objectors” attending the planning meetings at Wallasey Town Hall.

Liscard Conservative councillor Leah Fraser also objected and attended the meetings and said the legal and planning departments had not communicated properly. Cllr Fraser said: “Typically, one department is not speaking to another and we end up with a mess like this.

“It’s become like a Carry On film – it’s distressing for the residents and prolongs the application.”

Despite members of the planning committee voting against a motion to throw out the application last month, they did not immediately vote to accept the planning officer’s recommendation that it be passed.

As a result the meeting had to be held again – last week – but councillors were unable to come to a decision on the application after a dispute over whether the site was already acceptable for commercial use. There was also disagreement over which councillors were legally allowed to take part in the meeting.

A spokeswoman for Wirral Council said: “The use of this building is the subject of a planning enforcement enquiry, which is completely separate to the planning application.

“However, members of the committee want more information on whether the building is authorised for light industrial use before making a final decision on the planning application.”