Harrow School planning application-Trust asks, 'What is really going on?'

A post on the Harrow Hill Trust website devoted to resisting Harrow School's plan to build on Metropolitan Open Land LINK suggests it is not only the Brent Planning Department which has issues around due process.

The Harrow Planning Committeee hearing of the school's application had been deferred when a report was withdrawn  LINK  

Harrow School recently lost at a Planning Inspectorate hearing over plans to re-route two footpaths. LINK

This is the Trust's post: 

CONSULTATION – GENUINE OR JUST A TICK BOX EXERCISE?

A letter dated 27 April 2017, after the recent planning meeting and newly posted on the planning portal under application P/1940/16, is from Matthew Paterson planning adviser to Harrow School, which states the following.

We are pleased to note that the re-consultation period proposed by the Council will not impact upon our application being determined at the May Planning Committee.

 It is reasonable to assume that Mr Patterson is accurate and knows the timetable for procedures for planning meetings. This is due to the fact that for over 5 years until October 2014 he was Head of Planning Policy for Harrow Borough and at the recent meeting he and his client met with the Chair of the Planning Committee.

 The consultation period runs for 21 days from 28th April which is until 19th May 2017. The May Planning Committee is set for 24th May 2017 and the planning officer’s report has to be circulated and published 7 days earlier, i.e. on Wednesday 17th May. This is of course 2 days before the consultation period has even ended, let alone allowing for the planning officer’s report to incorporate all possible responses from the consultation.

There have been numerous and consistent complaints about the ‘consultation’ provided for this planning application, including poor notification, no sysem of recording of verbal feedfack, no open floor two way question and answer sessions, misrepresentation of feedback provided, missing and misleading information provided, in fact too many to go into in this short post. Perhaps this is another clear indication of what is really going on?

Decision deferred (again): Harrow Council debacle over Harrow School planning application

There will be red faces at Harrow Council over a mess up that means that Wednesday's planning application by Harrow school has been deferred.
The application involving building on Metropolitan Open Land had already been deferred last November.

  Manize Talukdar, Democratic & Electoral Services Officer at Harrow Council informed Harrow Hill Trust, who have campaigned against the proposals:

Please note that officers will be asking Members to defer this application as an incorrect version of the report was published in the agenda, in error.

Harrow Hill Trust notified supporters of the deferral on its Change Petition website LINK and commented:

So although it [the planning application]  will be raised at the meeting it will be deferred. Unfortunately as it is being raised, the constitution does not allow us to raise a question even though it is not going to be discussed! 

We have clearly shown many mistakes in the applicant's documentation and the subsequent Case Officer's report, as set out in our letters of 11th June 2016 and 27 February 2017, we noted that the latest Officer's Report published unilaterally scrapped the MOL swap in favour of building on MOL and having an MOL extension. This being in conflict with the application as published and the Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). 

This is all very worrying when we are relying on our Council's planning department to serve the residents.

It seems that Brent is not the only council having problems with its planning department!

For the record these are the recommendations as currently posted on the Harrow Council Planning Committee agenda page:

RECOMMENDATION

The Planning Committee is asked to:
·      agree the reasons for approval and the conditions as set out in this report in appendix 1; and 

·      refer this application to the Mayor of London (the GLA) as a Stage 2 referral; and 

·      subject to the Mayor of London (or delegated authorised officer) advising that he is content to allow the Council to determine the application and does not wish to issue a direction under Article 7 that he does not wish to direct refusal, or to issue a direction under Article 7 that he is to act as the local planning authority for the purposes of determining the application, delegate authority to the Divisional Director of Regeneration, Enterprise and Planning in consultation with the Director of Legal and Governance Services for the continued negotiation and completion of the Section 106 legal agreement and other enabling legislation and issue of the planning permission and subject to minor amendments to the conditions (set out in Appendix 1 of this report) or the legal agreement. The Section 106 Agreement Heads of Terms would cover the following matters:
.        a)  The area to the west of the application site shown on Plan P.05.12 delineated in black and coloured light green (referred to below as “the MOL extension land”) shall remain permanently open and not be developed at any time in the future except for landscaping purposes approved by the authority or in accordance with policy relating to MOL as set out in London Plan Policy 17.7 or a revision thereof. 

.        b)  The existing buildings which are within the MOL extension land and also those within the area delineated in blue on Plan P.05.12 shall be demolished no later than 15 months after first occupation of the proposed new Sports facility building the subject of planning application P/1940/16. 

.        c)  The area of land delineated in blue on Plan P.05.12 shall thereafter not be developed at any time in the future except for landscaping purposes approved by the authority or in accordance with the policy relating to MOL as set out in London Plan Policy 17.7 or a revision thereof. 

.        d)  Community Use Agreement to be implemented; 

.        e)  Implementation of the Sustainable Travel Plan; 

.        f)  Undertaking that the applicant will work with Harrow Council on Employment and 
Training Initiatives including apprenticeships associated with the proposed 
construction;
g)  Additional Tree Planting; 

.        h)  Local goods and services; and 

.        i)  Monitoring fee - £5,000.00 


RECOMMENDATION B

Appendix 1 - Plan P.05.12

That if the Section 106 Agreement is not completed by 14^th June 2017, or as such extended period as may be agreed by the Divisional Director of Regeneration, Enterprise and Planning in consultation with the Chair of the Planning Committee, then it is recommended to delegate the decision to REFUSE planning permission to the Divisional Director of Regeneration, Enterprise and Planning on the grounds that:
The proposed development, in the absence of a Planning Obligation to secure necessary agreements and commitments in relation to the development, would fail to mitigate the impact of the development upon infrastructure and the wider area, contrary to the National Planning Policy Framework, Policies 3.19, 6.3, 7.14 and 8.2 of the London Plan (2016), Policies CS 1 G and Z of the Harrow Core Strategy (2012) and Policies DM 43, DM 46 and DM 50 of the Local Plan (2013), and the provisions of the Harrow Planning Obligations supplementary planning document.

REASON FOR THE RECOMMENDATIONS

Whilst noting the harmful impact on the Conservation Area, the wider benefits to both Harrow School and the wider community are considered to override these concerns in this instance. Notwithstanding this, there are improvements to the Conservation Area and the setting of Listed Buildings, notably:
·      The implementation of high quality landscaping within the area to the south of Football Lane both within the application site and the areas adjacent the subject of the s106 obligation. 

·      The enhancements to the setting of listed buildings including in particular the Head Master’s, Vaughan Library, the Chapel, New Schools and Butler building by reason of creation of openness adjacent to them and by reason of the landscaping proposed, in accordance with covenants in the s106 obligation 
Furthermore the application has demonstrated very special circumstances in accordance with policies relating to development within Metropolitan Open Land (MOL), notably: 

·      The site circumstances, including the significant planning constraints experienced across the School’s estate and the lack of alternative suitable land; 

·      The pressing academic curriculum needs for sports and science; 

·      The very significant sports benefits of the proposal, providing sports facilities in a sustainable location which are of very high quality and sports training facilities for 
young persons in particular; 

·      The provision of significant shared access to very high quality sports and leisure 
facilities for the local community and local schools at no charge to the public purse in an area of high deprivation and need for sports facilities, where there are no comparable sports facilities in the area of such quality. 
 


Meeting tonight to plan campaign on Harrow voluntary sector cuts

From Harrow Association of Disabled People

Harrow Association  of Disabled People (HAD) are holding a public meeting this tonight  7pm after our Board meeting in the Red Brick Cafe, 38-40 High Street, Wealdstone. It is aimed at discussing the implications of Harrow Council’s changes to the way that it’s funding some of the work of local charities.

We also want to discuss campaigning together and more generally as a voluntary sector within Harrow.

HAD will lose nearly £100K in the move from grant and SLA funding (“Service Level Agreement” a form of direct funding from a particular Council department). Many other charities will also lose. Attached is a list, taken from recent cabinet papers, of what other charities received this financial year in the way of SLA and/or grant funding and assumedly, what they will lose next year. Apologies for any errors in the list, I tried to combine the total effects from several tables.

HAD are particularly concerned about the loss of direct funding for Gladys Janes and Fatima Walji our Welfare Benefit Advice workers. The SLA from Harrow Council that enables us to run the service has been cut over the years to the current level of £27K. Harrow’s direct funding for this service is to finish at the end of April 2017.  Gladys and Fatima see nearly 1,000 new clients each year and help them to gain over £1 million in disability welfare benefits that disabled people need to ensure that they can live independently and with dignity. The team help with the complex and long application forms, help with the appeals, and if necessary represent them at tribunals (where there are currently winning over 85% of cases). Many of their clients are referred from other local charities and If we lose their services it will be a great loss to the whole voluntary sector in Harrow.

The Council are proposing to move any money that they have for delivery of services through the local Voluntary Service into their "Commissioning" group. This will mean holding competitive bids through their “Commissioning Systems” that local Charities, and others, will have to bid for. Last week, HAD made representations to Harrow Council, who are themselves facing swingeing cuts from Central Government, to discuss this, and to present what HAD believes are better choices for achieving this. We have a meeting with Michael Lockwood scheduled for next week and this open meeting will help us to prepare for it.

Please come along, Nigel Long (HAD’s Chief executive) and I will outline the Council’s proposed changes, outline our alternatives and I’ll chair a discussion.  Nigel has around 30 years experience as a local Councillor in Milton Keynes, many of those years as a Cabinet Member. I have some years experience working on, and within, public procurement systems.

Bill Phillips

Harrow Hill Trust's case against Harrow School development published at last

From Harrow Hill Trust:

22 Jan 2017 — Harrow Hill Trust undertook a detailed assessment of the hundreds of pages of application documents submitted to seek planning permission. (Harrow School's development on Metropolitan Open Land) This assessment included many pictures and constructive ideas and was dated 11 June 2016 and was hand delivered. Despite being hand delivered, two phone calls in the summer, which included the case officer, a further hard copy and a letter of complaint it finally appears 7 months late on the Harrow.gov.uk website. This is of course now after the first public planning meeting of 16 November. The assessment can be seen at the Harrow by searching for application P/1940/16 . Your support is appreciated. Thanks

The Harrow Council Planning Website is not exactly user friendly so I have reproduced the full submission below. Click on bottom right corner for a full page.

Another battle between Harrow School and locals comes to a head next month

I have reported the battle between local people in Harrow and Harrow School over the school's plans to build on Metropolitan Open Land and spoil views of the Hill LINK but the school and locals are enaged in another battle, which started in 2003, and is due to come to a head next month.

There is to be three day Harrow School Footpaths Diversion Inquiry at Harrow Civic Centre from January 17th to January 19th 2016 by the Planning Inspectorate where evidence from the public and the school will be heard.

The conflict was reported by The Guardian in 2011 LINK and this extract summarises the issue quite well:

The extraordinary row, which threatens to end in court, stems from a multimillion-pound development of the school's facilities eight years ago when, next to a running track and an extended sports centre, two all-weather pitches were built. At the time, it was agreed by the Ramblers Association – erroneously, it now claims – that the pitches could be put on top of the old pathway as long as an alternative route was created.

But the alternative path, known as a permissive path because its continued existence is at the whim of the school, has now been deemed unacceptable by local walkers. Legally, because it does not follow the route of the old path, the right for people to walk on the new path could be summarily removed with six months' notice, it says.

And because the path circumvents the school's pitches, it has extended what was a gentle stroll across the grounds into a trek. "The permissive path probably pretty well doubles the distance of when you enter the playing fields to when you leave the playing fields," said Graham Wright, the Ramblers Association's local footpath secretary. "These people actually want to get to Harrow, they don't want to walk that extra bit and in some ways they are not having the beauty of Harrow Hill.

"The proper path has the views of St Mary's church and Harrow Hill as you walk, whereas when you do the permissive path you are looking towards Northwick Park hospital and Watford Road. It's not quite the same."

The Ramblers Association says that a small path between the two all-weather pitches should be opened up to the public to resurrect the old path. But the school, which charges up to £30,000 a year per pupil in fees, is not budging, prompting accusations of "arrogance" from some quarters.

The school's application, which includes allegations of dog excrement on the fields and the public wandering off the path can be found HERE

No Brent councillors sign anti-austerity anti-funding cuts statement

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Almost 150 Councillors from across the country have signed a letter slamming the Government for massive funding cuts and and will be joining the tens of thousand of people who will be marching in London for the People’s Assembly ‘Health, Homes, Jobs and Education’ demo on Saturday April 16^th.

Although councillors from neighbouring Harrow and Camden have signed thare are none from Brent.
 

The letter followed George Osborne’s ill-fated budget which piled on more misery for millions as the Government laid out plans to cut support for disabled people while offering tax breaks for big business and the wealthy.

With an extra £3.5 billion axed from public spending, Local Authorities are among those that will be bearing the brunt of the failed Tory austerity agenda.

People’s Assembly National Secretary Sam Fairbairn said:

The Tories are increasingly out of touch with the reality of life for most people. Every time they say ‘we all in it together’ it’s another slap round the face of millions of people. The revelations that have unfolded with the ‘Panama Papers’ show the super-rich hiding their wealth in tax havens on an industrial scale. This means they avoid taxes that would pay for all the social benefits that are currently under attack and people are understandably angry. We’re now seeing the potential for big unrest across the country and it wont be long until this government face a movement for change they can’t control.

This is why we believe that the demonstration for ‘Health, Homes, Jobs and Education’ in London on April 16^th will be significant as the anti-austerity movement and opposition to Tory cuts grows and thousands take to the streets. We call for Cameron to resign and for the Tories to be booted out of office

The letter reads:

As Councillors we believe this Tory Government’s ideological opposition to public services lies behind the deliberate underfunding of Local Authorities.

Councils have faced unprecedented cuts; Local Authority grants in England have been slashed, with £12.5 billion of cuts and half a million Council workers losing their jobs since 2010. Osborne has forced through 40% cuts to Council budgets meaning that local authorities face the reality of cutting frontline services including Adult Social Care and Children’s Services, leaving those that rely on them at risk.

We believe that austerity is a political choice. We oppose all cuts from Westminster and believe Osborne’s plans for Local Government will only make a bad situation worse.

We call on the government to reverse cuts to council funding so we are able to provide essential services our communities rely on. Furthermore we call for an end to austerity that is seeing living standards for the majority fall. This is why we also support the national march for Health, Homes, Jobs & Education on Saturday 16 April 2016 in London organised by the People’s Assembly.

If you are a councillor and wish to add your name, please go to www.thepeoplesassembly.org.uk

Cllr Aaron Shotton	Flintshire County Council	Labour
Cllr Abi Mills	Lancaster	Green
Cllr Alan Gosling	Rotherham Borough Council	Labour
Cllr Alan McGuckin	Cumbria County Council	Labour
Cllr Alex Phillips	Brighton & Hove City Council	Green
Cllr Alice Grice	Nottinghamshire County Council	Labour
Cllr Amanda Brown	Ashfield District Council	Labour
Cllr Amanda Cartwright	Kidsgrove Town Council	Labour
Cllr Andrew Austin	Louth Town Council	Labour
Cllr Andrew Boswell	Norfolk County Council	Green
Cllr Andrew Cooper	Kirklees Council	Green
Cllr Andy Hannan	Devon County Council	Labour
Cllr Anna Key	Liverpool	Green
Cllr Anna McMullen	Bristol City Council	Green
Cllr Bob Price	Sunderland	Labour
Cllr Brian Grocock	Nottingham city council	Labour
Cllr Brian Steele	Rotherham MBC	Labour
Cllr Bryn Truscott	Reigate & Banstead Borough Council	Green
Cllr Carla Denyer	Bristol City Council	Green
Cllr Carole Jones	Nottingham City	Labour
Cllr Carolyn Thomas	Flintshire County Council	Labour
Cllr Charlie Bolton	Bristol	Green
Cllr Chris Furlong	Rochdale	Labour
Cllr Chris McFarling	Forest of Dean District Council	Green
Cllr Chris Spence	Silverdale Parish Council	Labour
Cllr Chrissie Rumsby	Norfolk County Council	Labour
Cllr Craig Simmons	Oxford City Council	Green
Cllr Dani Glazzard	Bristol City Council	Green
Cllr Daniella Radice	Bristol City Council	green
Cllr David Evans	Flintshire County Council	Labour
Cllr David Gibson	Brighton and Hove City Council	Green
Cllr David Healey	Flintshire	Labour
Cllr David Raby	Norwich City Council	Green
Cllr David Roney	Flintshire County Council	Independent
Cllr David Stockdale	Newcastle City Council	Labour
Cllr Dean Collins	Derbyshire County Council	Labour
Cllr Denise Carlo	City of Norwich	Green
Cllr Denise Elliott	RMBC	Labour
Cllr Dick Page	Brighton & Hove City Council	Green
Cllr Donald Davies	North Somerset	Independent
Cllr Douglas Beattie	London Borough of Camden	Labour
Cllr Dr Tim Jones	Norwich City Council	Green
Cllr Elizabeth Morgan	Norfolk County Council	Green
Cllr Emma Corlett	Norfolk County	Labour
Cllr Gary Johnston	Caerphilly	Labour
Cllr Gavin Lloyd	Coventry	Labour
Cllr Gerri Bird	Cambridge	Labour
Cllr Ginny Klein	Nottingham	Labour
Cllr Gloria Tanner	Swansea City & County	Labour
Cllr Graham Chapman	Nottingham City	Labour
Cllr Gus Hoyt	Bristol City Council	Green
Cllr James “Bert” Bremner	Norfolk County Council	Labour
Cllr James “Bert” Bremner	Norwich City Council	Labour
Cllr James Doyle	Worthing Borough	Green
Cllr Jennifer Rowlands	Luton Borough Council	Labour
Cllr Jim Creamer	Nottinghamshire county Council	Labour
Cllr John Coughlin	London Borough of Lewisham	Green
Cllr John Dickinson	Chesterfield Borough Council	Labour
Cllr John Marjoram	Stroud Distrist	Green
Cllr John Wilkinson	Nottinghamshire County Council	labour
Cllr Jonathan Essex	Redhill East	Green
Cllr Jonathan Perkin	Staffordshire Moorlands District Council	Independant
Cllr Joshua Booth	Warrington	Labour
Cllr Julian Roskams	Malvern Hills District Council	Green
Cllr Julie Brociek-Coulton	Norwich City Council	Labour
Cllr Julie Reid	Manchester City Council	Labour
Cllr Karen Allison	Kirklees	Green
Cllr Kate Lewis	Salford	Labour
Cllr Kathleen Nickson	Rochdale	Labour
Cllr Keith Brown	Chesterfield Borough	Labour
Cllr Kevin Bennett	Warrington Borough Council	TUSC
Cllr Kevin Cranston	Stroud District Council	Green
Cllr Lachlan Morrison	Ashfield District Council	Labour
Cllr Lawrence Brown	Liverpool City Council	green
Cllr Leo Littman	Brighton & Hove City Council	Green
Cllr Lesley Grahame	Norwich	Green
Cllr Lin Martin-Haugh	Stevenage Borough Council	Labour
Cllr Lin Patterson	Bath and North East Somerset	Green
Cllr Lisa-Marie Derbyshire	Chesterfield Borough Council	Labour
Cllr Louise Nixon	Stafford Borough	Labour
Cllr Lucy Howard	Norwich City Council	Green
Cllr Maggie Godfrey	Rotherhan	Labour
Cllr Margaret E Davies	Rhondda Cynon Taff	Labour
Cllr Mark Rivers	Luton	Labour
Cllr Martin Fodor	Bristol	Green
Cllr Martyn Rawlinson	Preston	Labour
Cllr Mary Stirzaker	Fleetwood	Labour
Cllr Matthew Brown	Preston City Council	Labour
Cllr Meric Apak	Camden	Labour
Cllr Michael Haley	Watford Borough	Labour
Cllr Michael Hou	Essex County Council	Green
Cllr Mick Bowman	Newcastle City Council	Labour
Cllr Mick Wall	Chesterfield Borough Council	Labour
Cllr Mike Pringle	Notts county	Labour
Cllr Mike Rowley	Oxford City Council	Labour
Cllr Mohammed Ibrahim	Nottingham city council	Labour
Cllr Naomi Fearon	Fleetwood Town Council	Labour
Cllr Nigel Gawthrope	Cambridge City	Labour
Cllr Noel Kavanagh	Cambridgeshire County Council	Labour
Cllr Norma Wright	City of Sunderland	Labour
Cllr Oliur Rahman	Tower Hamlets Council	Independent
Cllr Oscar Gillespie	Cambridge	Green
Cllr Pamela Fitzpatrick	Harrow	Labour
Cllr Pat Cleary	Wirral	Green
Cllr Patrick Hacon	Norfolk County Council	Labour
Cllr Paul Neale	Norwich City	Green
Cllr Paul Shotton	Flintshire	Labour
Cllr Paul Stewart	Sunderland	Labour
Cllr Pete Lowe	Dudley	Labour
Cllr Peter Innes	Chesterfield Borough Council	Labour
Cllr Peter j Curtis	Flintshire	Labour
Cllr Phélim Mac Cafferty	Brighton and Hove City Council	Green
Cllr Phelim McCafferty	Brunswick & Adelaide	Green
Cllr Phil Rackley	Basildon	Green
Cllr Rachel lancaster	Coventry	Labour
Cllr Richard Alderson Bell	Sunderland City Council	Labour
Cllr Richard Price	Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council	Labour
Cllr Rishi Madlani	Camden	Labour
Cllr Rob Telford	Bristol City Council	Green
Cllr Rob White	Reading	Green
Cllr Robert Taylor	Rotherham	Labour
Cllr Rose Bulfin	South Normanton Parish Council	Labour
Cllr Ruthi Brandt	Oxford City	green
Cllr Sam Coates	Oxfordshire	Green
Cllr Sam Hollick	Oxford City Council	Green
Cllr Sam Webster	Nottingham city	Labour
Cllr Samantha bellamy	Salford	Labour
Cllr Samuel Gibbons	Keele Parish Council	Green
Cllr Sandra Crawford	Cambridge	Labour
Cllr Sarah Pickup	Newcastle under Lyme borough council	Labour
Cllr Shane Collins	Mendip district council	Green
Cllr Shelly Darwin	Ipswich Borough	Labour
Cllr Sian Berry	London Borough of Camden	Green
Cllr Simon Bull	Bournemouth	Green
Cllr Stephen Clarke	Bristol City Council	Green
Cllr Steve Battlemuch	Nottingham City	Labour
Cllr Susan Murray	Lewes District Council	Green
Cllr Susan Press	Calderdale MBC	Labour