7 June - Recommended for Refusal
By
the time I got to Bexley Village yesterday the large signs over the cab office doors had
been replaced by small ones saying ‘Reception’ and ‘Office’. Another development
was that the Agenda for the next Planning Committee meeting (14th June) was published.
As was already known, although the business is registered to Mark Campbell, the son
of the deputy leader of the council, and it was him who was
seen discussing the
matter in the council offices,
his name appears nowhere on the application or in the
document to be placed before the Planning Committee.
The
Planning Department’s report makes interesting reading and the council
officers appear to have played a very straight bat. They note that the
application claims to have the support of the police and nearby traders but
record that they are among the 23 people who have objected to the plan - police included
- who label some of the application “false”.
The new cab firm proposes to stop cabs from other companies using
the area shown in the photo to pick up passengers from Bar Lorca (situated
immediately behind the camera position) which seems to be a recipe for
trouble. The Highways department predict that the scheme will cause traffic hazards
and the publicans who were said by the applicant to be supporters have proved to
be very much the opposite, going as far as to say they don’t believe all the
statements made in the application are true.
The man from Sherbets Cabs situated in the railway station approach reveals what
inebriated customers get up to outside his premises, saying in effect, it is bad
enough for that to happen away from the village, it shouldn’t be
transferred to its centre. His comments are well worth a read.
Before reading the Planning Department’s report I might have put money on this
application going through, but it looks as though not putting the Campbell name
on it, which appeared to be a cunning trick at the outset may have
back-fired; and including so many fibs hasn’t gone
down too well either. Three cheers for Head of Planning, Susan Clark and her team!