Chair's casting vote ensures approval of controversial Wembley Hospital planning application

 

Proposed development of Wembley Hospital site, Chaplin Road

There has been much interest in how Labour has clung on to power in Brent following the local election result. The 'arrangement' reached with the Tories where they were recognised as the main opposition group, given chair positions on committees and the deputy mayorship was decisive but in the case of the ostensibly non-political Planning Committee rested with the Chair, Cllr Saqib Butt, brother of Labour leader Muhammed Butt, who has a casting vote in the event of a tied vote.

 This fell apart at a previous committee considering the Wembley Hospital planning application where an initial vote of approval, based on the chair's casting vote, was overturned when it was revealed that one approval vote was invalid as the councillor concerned had not been present for the whole meeting. This meant that the application was refused but officers moved quickly to suggest the item was deferred to a future meeting after officers had considered the validity of reasons for refusal.

The item was heard again this week and again there was a tied vote, with the chair using his casting vote for approval. Although the Planning Committee is 'non-political' Labour members voted for the application and Cllr Harshabhai Patel (Conservative). Cllr Michael Maurice (Conservative), Cllr Iman Ahmadi Moghaddam (Green) and Cllr Anton Georgiou (Liberal Democrat) voted against.

 Their reasons  they opposed approval followed similar lines and included the failure to meet affordable housing guidelines, concerns over parking overspill into nearby streets, loss of daylight and sunlight to neighbouring properties, density and lack of rigour in addressing potential problems of overheating.

Planning Officers confirmed this time that all the reasons given were valid in planning terms.