North Yorkshire Council is facing a call to temporarily hand over some of its decision-making powers to the Government amid claims one of the authority’s senior officers stands to financially benefit if a scheme to launch a wedding venue is approved.
North Yorkshire Council’s Richmond constituency planning committee on Thursday looks set to consider allowing a change of use of farmland at Ainderby Steeple, near Northallerton, to enable a “farm diversification” scheme in which the land would instead be used to host events for up to 140 people.
Following an initial application being withdrawn owing to issues around the use of the existing access from Green Hills Lane, the latest application includes an access across a different farm.
Justifying the proposal, applicants Stuart and Catherine Tweddle said the farming community were “facing unprecedented hardship”, and diversification schemes had been “brought into sharper focus as a result of the UK leaving the EU”.
However, dozens of residents have claimed the venture is unsuitable at the farm because even with measures to limit the noise impact access to the site was dangerous even if the applicant completed a planned purchase of a strip of land to make it safer from its owner, a senior council officer.
Recommending the proposal be approved, an officers’ report to the meeting states: “The development will clearly result in a significant increase in traffic using the highway network in the vicinity of the application site which given the narrowness of the road could result in traffic congestion.
“Through consultation with the highway authority, it is considered that the proposals will not result in a severe impact on highway safety and on this basis the development is, subject to the construction of passing places, acceptable.”
In an objection former Hambleton councillor Brian Phillips asked why the case officer was now recommending approval the new access given his previous indication that it would be turned down “on the strength of the proposed new track alone”.
While there has been no suggestion of any wrongdoing, residents have questioned how the application should be considered.
When asked if the council believed there were any issues over the appearance of impartiality with the planning application, North Yorkshire
Council’s director of community development, Nic Harne, said: “As residents would expect, our planning process is completely transparent and the legal terms under which any application is considered are set out in our constitution.
“This application was always going to be determined by the relevant area planning committee and it is absolutely right those elected members should make their decision based on its merits.”
Councillor Stuart Parsons, leader of the council’s Independent group, said he had written to the authority’s top legal officer to question the appropriateness of the local planning committee making a decision.
He said to avoid any suggestion of impartiality, the decision on the application should either be made by the council’s main planning committee or by the Secretary of State using a planning inspector’s report.
Coun Parsons said: “The council has to start from a position that it is seen to be whiter than white. This application needs to be determined as far away from a local level as possible.”
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