17 September 2021
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I haven’t blogged for a couple of weeks as things have been relatively quiet. However, at the end of August I went to the Extraordinary Planning Meeting of Hazlemere Parish Council. The meeting was about the planning application for Terriers Farm. This blog brings you up-to date with the consultation process.
I have kept very largely to a factual account. I think readers will be able to come to their own conclusions about the different way Hazlemere and Hughenden Parish Councils have handled the process.
All I will say is thank goodness for Hazlemere Parish Council. Thank you for making the case against the application so well. Moreover, unlike Hughenden PC, no-one at Hazlemere Parish Council shouted at me.
The story so far
This is an application to build 418 homes in fields on the corner of Kingshill Road and the A404, right on the border of Hughenden parish. The proposed development will have a considerable adverse impact, particularly on Four Ashes and the rest of Widmer End. Hughenden PC also owns considerable land next to the proposed development.
The deadline for comments was 2 September.
At Hughenden PC’s Planning Committee on 16 August, residents urged the Committee to take at least a preliminary look at the application. However, they were told there was not enough time. Hughenden Parish Council was urged to hold an Extraordinary Meeting like Hazlemere PC and to set up a working group on Terriers. But to no avail.
All the Committee agreed was that myself and Cllr Kearey should go to the Hazlemere Extraordinary meeting, and that the Planning Committee should ask for an extension so it could consider the proposals at its next Planning meeting on 20 September.
Since when..
Cllr Kearey and I duly went to the Hazlemere PC meeting on 31 August. It had set aside the whole meeting for this one application and advertised it to residents. All the councillors attended and about 20 members of the public, most from Hazlemere but some from Hughenden. Members of the public were invited to speak and I think everyone who wanted had the opportunity.
Councillors then made their contributions and it was obvious that they had done their homework; they demonstrated considerable knowledge and expertise on the issues. There was even time at the end for a general discussion with members of the public.
Hazlemere PC had an extension of the deadline to 15 September. The Clerk therefore had time to write up the Council’s comments by the deadline. The comments are on Bucks Council’s planning portal at 21/07002/FUL | Erection of 418 dwellings, associated parking, landscaping, open space, formal sports pitch provision and diversion of PROW, along with vehicle and pedestrian access from Kingshill Road and Amersham Road (A404). | Land At Terriers Farm Kingshill Road High Wycombe Buckinghamshire.
I think the comments are excellent – comprehensive, thorough and detailed. If you want to read them they were submitted on 13 September as “REPRESENTATION (HAZLEMERE PC MINUTES)”.
I submitted my own comments on the portal on 2 September (in three parts I am afraid as I couldn’t master the technicalities.) I did this as the parish councillor for Widmer End and Four Ashes but not on behalf of Hughenden Parish Council as I was not authorised to do so. I submitted comments separately as I had real concerns that Hughenden PC would miss the statutory deadline.
So going back to Hughenden PC, I learnt last Thursday that the Terriers application would not be going to the Planning Committee on 20 September as planned. The application had to go instead to Full Council on 14 September because Bucks Council had declined to extend the deadline beyond 15 September.
Suffice it to say that the whole of Hughenden PC’s Full Council on 14 September had to be limited to 90 minutes. Even so, Council still pressed on with the full agenda including 17 resolutions to decide - an average of 5 minutes each.
And that’s exactly what this application got from Hughenden PC – 5 minutes. Probably the most important planning application for years got no more than 5 minutes consideration.
There was little, if any, contribution from other councillors. Council decided the Deputy Clerk would prepare Hughenden PC’s comments from mine and those made at the Hazlemere meeting. The comments needed to be submitted the next day.
I tried to get agreement that Hughenden PC would object to the application as well as commenting. I was shouted down for delaying discussion on the rest of the agenda.
Only one resident turned up – and not from any interest in Terriers.
Hughenden PC’s objections were put on the portal on 15 September.
It is now up to Bucks Council’s Strategic Sites Committee to made a decision on the application (date as yet unknown).
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