Tories slam lack of Borough Plan for Nuneaton and Bedworth

The lack of a Borough Plan for Nuneaton and Bedworth has been slammed by members of the local Tory group.



They have launched a petition calling for the Labour-controlled council to finalise the document and put it before the Independent Planning Inspector as soon as possible.

Coun Kris Wilson, deputy leader of the opposition group, said: “Entire communities in Arbury, Weddington, St Nicolas, Whitestone and Attleborough have been waiting for far too long for an answer and yet eight months after they asked the people for their views, the council has still not given a response.

“It is completely unfair for those residents who are living their lives in the shadow of Labour’s flawed Borough Plan. They need to know one way or the other and that is why we have launched our petition demanding an answer.”

Nuneaton MP Marcus Jones joined party colleagues to support the petition call and canvas shoppers in the town centre. He said: “The council has shown a woeful lack of leadership over the Borough Plan.

"They have had four years in control and eight months since the close of the consultation to put forward its final proposals and submit them to the Independent Planning Inspector. Residents are demanding action; Labour councillors have delivered a stony silence.”

Coun Keith Kondakor, the only Green member on the borough council, has also hit out at the Labour cabinet’s failure to produce a finalised copy of the plan, which is designed to earmark future areas of development throughout the borough.

He said: “It is obvious that the delay is due to the impending local elections, because Labour don’t want to rock the boat and upset the voters and this is disgraceful.

"Developers are seizing the opportunity to exploit the fact that no housing targets have been put in place by jumping in with planning proposals.”

Despite local opposition and reservations by some councillors, the go-ahead has already been given for new homes to be built on farm land at Weddington and the Long Shoot, while building control applications are also stacking up.

“People living in Galley Common and near Marston Lane in Attleborough are getting worried because surveys, which don’t require planning permission, are being carried out,” added Coun Kondakor.

“Without a Borough Plan, whole communities are being left vulnerable.”

When will Borough Plan be revealed?



FRUSTRATION is growing over why one of the most important development plans in Nuneaton and Bedworth's recent history has not yet been made public.

Sections of the community across the borough are demanding to know why, eight months after the public consultation, Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council has not revealed the latest version of the 'Borough Plan'.

As featured in the News, the Borough Plan will map out what land can be used for development across the two towns for the next few decades.

According to its own timetable, the council was due to start another public consultation in 'early 2014' to allow people to comment again on the plan, before it is submitted to an inspector.

But councillor Danny Aldington, cabinet member for planning and development at the Town Hall, was unable to give a definitive date when questioned at a full council meeting.

Instead he said that the plan would be revealed in 'due course.'

He stressed that the reason behind the delay was the fact that there was such detailed response to the public consultation that it was 'only right' that council officers investigated the suggestions made by the public.

"There was an extensive programme of consultation taken place last year and due to the success of the consultation, and the volume and depth of the feedback, it is only right that this is investigated properly, and this obviously takes time," Cllr Aldington said.

"The plan will be announced in due course and examination in public will be held at the beginning of next year."

But this response has not satisfied Nuneaton MP Marcus Jones, who said the council are treating residents with 'contempt' by not revealing when the plan will be made public.

"Labour think that by kicking it into the long grass everyone will forget before they vote on May 22, but they are actually treating people with contempt," Mr Jones said.

"There are lots of people angry about this, in Golf Drive, in Arbury and in Bedworth and they want answers."

Many fear that without a plan in place, land across the borough council be at-risk of development because no specific sites have been identified, leaving a potential free-for-all for developers.

MP’s anger as ‘no plan’ council forced to pay out £112,000



The lack of a Borough Plan for Nuneaton and Bedworth is “completely unacceptable”, says local MP Dan Byles.

He has hit out at the council’s controlling Labour group following the revelation that £112,000 of ratepayers’ money has been lost on two planning appeals.

“The council is in effect throwing people’s money away because they keep delaying the Borough Plan and this is completely unacceptable,” said Mr Byles. “These costs have built up from defending planning appeals.

“Labour’s draft Borough Plan is deeply flawed, but at least if they had introduced it they could decide where developments go.

“Local residents have a right to be angry and will want to know why Labour have been so useless at looking after their money.”

Most of the costs relate to an application to build houses at Galley Common and it is understood the council could lose as much as a further £200,000 over proposals for 200 homes at Hawkesbury Village, which lies in Mr Byles’ constituency.

“Because of fundamental mistakes made by the planning committee, the appeal from the developer was successful, meaning that the council failed to protect Hawkesbury from the unwanted development,” said the Tory MP.

“Fortunately Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Local Government, stepped in to block the appeal on grounds of the development being on greenbelt land.”

A working party for the Borough Plan has still to be finalised by the Labour-controlled cabinet – and a call has now been made to hold a special full council meeting.

Green Party pair Keith Kondakor and Ian Bonner and Independent councillor Nicholas Grant have joined forces with the three Tory opposition members with a motion for the working party to come under the constitution.

“At the moment it is an ad hoc group which doesn’t come under any proper rules, which is not the way to run something of such importance,” said Coun Kondakor.

“By not having it as part of the constitution provides Labour with a get-out clause.”

Council leader Dennis Harvey said: “The working party would report back to cabinet, which in turn reports to full council, so everyone would get their chance to comment in public.

“Instead of this, the Tories and Greens, working together, are now suggesting that another committee be set up, with all the consequent delays and costs this would bring.”