8 June - Gareth Bacon nails it again
It
could almost be a reference to his former colleagues on Bexley Council who nod
through retrospective planning applications for construction projects that have
already devastated the lives of the unfortunate neighbours.
Gareth Bacon MP and long serving Bexley Councillor said on
the Conservative
Home website…
The Ten-Minute Rule Bill I proposed would have made this change by making
unauthorised developments a criminal offence. My Bill proposed a new legal
classification of ‘egregious breaches’ – deliberate or repeated attempts to
bypass the rules, especially in protected areas such as green belt land. It
would have prevented retrospective applications for such breaches from being
lodged, making it far harder for rogue developers to attempt to cheat the planning system.
Who could he possibly have had in mind?
Surely not the Bexley based developer who can twist Bexley’s Planning Committee around his little finger.
Or maybe has them by the throat.
Developers’ love-in with their local Councillors and the Vice Chairman of the Planning Committee.
Gareth goes on to describe Bexley’s rogue developer to a tee…
Their plan is simple but effective: build first, ask later. Racing local
authorities’ slow legal routes to stop unauthorised development, they hope to
complete as much as possible before enforcement action kicks in. But once
they’ve cleared the land, built structures and installed infrastructure, it
would take exorbitant sums to dismantle and revert the land to its original
condition —game over for the local authority.
Wreck the landscape without permission, encroach on ancient woodland, drive neighbours out of town, ask for retrospective planning permission. Friends in high places.