A ‘lack of respect’ is just one of the grievances Malpas Parish Council has with Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWaC) after months of frustration with how they think the borough has dealt with planning matters.
Parish councillors say they are ‘disappointed and frustrated’ at the lack of positive engagement from the council, as well as ‘extremely concerned’ at the authority’s failure to demonstrate an understanding of the status of the village’s adopted Neighbourhood Plan.
A letter written by Malpas Parish Council chairman John Webb to CWaC outlines what they see as failures by the authority, claiming they have not given proper weight to the village’s Neighbourhood Plan when making decisions on planning applications and even ‘ignoring’ many of the suggestions the parish council wanted to have included.
The plan received a 91% yes vote at its referendum, yet the way CWaC officers treated the parish council’s report on an application relating to Mount View Farm by failing to adequately recognise the policies within it was ‘disheartening to say the least’, the letter said.
Ten page appraisal
“Indeed there was no sense that your officers had properly regarded the Neighbourhood Plan or our findings,” reads the letter, addressed to CWaC CEO Steve Robinson.
“Our ten page detailed appraisal of the site assessed against the Neighbourhood Plan policies was briefly summarised by your officers to less than one page.
"The council failed to take on board many requested conditions, leaving the village to face the consequences. The fact is, the borough council is failing to respect the views of Malpas Parish Council.”
Other points raised in the letter included concerns that the Neighbourhood Plan application had already been pre-determined before the actual meeting took place, leading to lost opportunities, and the ‘wholly insufficient’ three minute time period that the parish council was given to speak at the meeting.
Local lettings policy
The parish council had also asked for a local lettings policy to be tied to the village’s affordable housing to ensure local needs were met, but they say the council failed to do this.
“Malpas, like many rural communities, differs greatly from the urban areas of Chester, Ellesmere Port and Winsford and our needs as a community differ greatly too, yet the council continually fail to grasp this,” writes Mr Webb.
“At the planning meeting some members wanted to condition a pedestrian crossing, as the site has no safe access to the village, yet the officer over-ruled this.
"The reality is, Mr Robinson, that Malpas now has a development with no safe access to the village and is contrary to the council’s own idea of ‘promoting healthy communities.’ The parish council does not understand why officers did not pursue the idea of a pedestrian crossing. Perhaps road safety is not a priority of your council.”
The lack of focus on the community’s infrastructure needs was also highlighted, as well as the fact that CWaC ‘missed the opportunity’ to condition Section 106 funds for schools from new housing developments.
No improved infrastructure
The letter, which also asks for an opportunity to meet with Mr Robinson, ends: “We are left with a swath of new housing and no improved infrastructure measures to help us cope.
“This does a disservice to new and existing residents left to live in a community which needs improved infrastructure to enable us to be a viable, sustainable community.
“The parish council and the people of Malpas feel badly let down by the borough council. Your officers have failed to positively engage with us despite numerous attempts and they have ignored the policies of the adopted Neighbourhood Plan, instead paying lip service to the document and to the people of the community,” it finishes.
Alison Knight, head of places strategy for CWaC, said: “We are very concerned about the issues raised by Malpas Parish Council and we are in discussions with them to find a resolution. We will also be meeting Malpas parish councillors in the near future to discuss planning matters.
“The council recognises that parish and town councils are central to local democracy and the delivery of Neighbourhood Plans which are vital to realise the aspirations of the local community and the broader aims of the Local Plan.”
