Coastal View & Moor News Issue 19  Continued from front page


the reopening of the slaughterhouse signed by over 1100 Boosbeck residents. BASH’s mistrust in the Council is well founded. On 14th November, BASH tells us their committee members visited council offi ces in Guisborough to view and scan copies of the planning fi le using a mobile camera phone. The fi le contained potentially incriminating documents indicating • A fi le note by a Planning offi cer initially confi rming the wrong type of application had been made


• That “insuffi cient supporting evidence” had been provided


• That the Council had failed to consult with anybody outside of the Planning Department


• That no Environmental Impact Assessment had been done Coastal View has seen the scanned copy of the fi le and has also seen a copy of the same fi le sent by the Council to BASH in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act. The Council left several incriminating documents out of the fi le it sent to BASH. A spokesperson for BASH said: “It’s a good thing we had the foresight to scan the fi le early on in the campaign, but you don’t really expect this sort of deception and cover up. If we don’t receive a satisfactory response from Amanda Skelton, we ought to refer the matter to the Local Authority Ombudsman and the Information Commissioners Offi ce.”


BASH has also passed us a copy of an email dated 11th October from the applicant’s solicitor telling the Council that “the site remains that of an abattoir and its entire set up has been and continues as an abattoir with various equipment still in place,” despite the selling agents description as empty with all internal fi xtures being removed. We appeal to Amanda Skelton to explain to the people of Boosbeck why she believes the set up continues as an abattoir when it closed in 2007. A spokesperson for BASH


19 Boosbeck slaughterhouse – it stinks!


told us: “Our legal advice confi rms it is an offence to provide misleading information to planners and that the Council can revoke, at any time, a certifi cate they may have issued as a result of any false or misleading information. In our opinion, any person who can read English can see the email is misleading so why hasn’t the council revoked the certifi cate?” Meanwhile, BASH’s solicitor has lodged a claim at the courts against Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council seeking a judicial review of the decision. If the case proceeds to court, it is likely that the future of the slaughterhouse could easily remain uncertain for 18 months to two years. Residents in Boosbeck are hoping that Banaras Halal Meats may wish to reconsider whether they should delay their planned works or select a more suitable site altogether.


Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council has sought to clarify its position over the Boosbeck abattoir development. The authority has no powers to prevent the re-opening of the abattoir, as Mr Banaras applied for a certifi cate of lawful use, which confi rms the legal use of the property over an extended period of time.


The Council is aware of a challenge to the certifi cate of lawful use, but remains of the opinion that its legal position is correct. Offi cers are presently reviewing a complaint from members of BASH, but the Council has rejected complaints that no site visit was made prior to the certifi cate being issued. A visit was carried out and the application has been dealt with in accordance with the authority’s stringent decision-making procedures.


The Council has been questioned about the online publication of its weekly planning list – something that is not a legal requirement, but is done as a matter of course once applications are validated. The validation of a weekly batch of


Kick in the teeth for Teesside bus users despite vast profi ts


Blenkinsop, recently hit out at local bus giant Arriva as they announced yet another round of fare increases on local routes. Tom said “As bus users go back to work they will fi nd their journeys dearer. Arriva have used the quiet period of the Xmas holidays to announce yet another stealth increase in fares. From the 2nd January most tickets will be going up - in some cases by up to 30 pence.


M


“As they operate a virtual monopoly in East Cleveland my constituents will have no choice but to fork out yet again. But it didn’t have to happen. “I know Arriva, like other bus operators, face cash pressures. But they are a wealthy fi rm and could easily have underwritten this increase from their coffers. After all, last years fi gures show that their Bus Division alone made an operating profi t of £91.2 million as part of overall Arriva Group profi ts of £3,147.8 million. Surely some of this could have helped local bus passengers.


iddlesbrough South and East Cleveland Labour MP, Tom


But in the mad world of Arriva it seems profi ts are both sacred and come before passengers.”


Nigel Featham, Managing Director for Arriva North East, said: “Arriva North East is committed to providing value for money fares and high service standards. Unfortunately due to current economic pressures such as rising fuel and insurance costs, austerity cuts made by local government to bus services and the reduction in BSOG (fuel duty rebate) we have had to implement this increase in fares. The Transport select committee of MPs recently acknowledged that these pressures ‘represented the biggest challenge to the bus industry in a generation’.


On a more positive note we have managed to freeze some prices, including tickets in the Teesside area, as well as introducing some new tickets which will see some passengers paying less than they were previously. We also invested in 32 new vehicles for Teesside last year as well as improving frequencies on routes, including the Loftus to Whitby service.”


applications process usually takes about a week to ten days to complete. Our records show the application was posted on the website on September 21. “However, following a request from the applicant’s solicitors this was altered to remove the applicant’s home address. It is this occurrence that members of BASH consider to be the initial publicity.” The authority has also moved to explain the situation surrounding the target date for a decision to be made, following BASH’s criticism. The target decision date is the expiry of an eight-week period required by the Planning Act.


It is the same working practice used by all local planning authorities (LPAs) to seek to determine applications within this period to correspond with Government targets. Wherever possible, LPAs will aim to determine applications once all relevant information is received and considered. The Council had not received any request from the MP to delay this application and the decision made followed the Council’s normal planning procedures. Records to date show that the Council has 26 letters objecting to the application received after the date of the decision and all of these have been responded to. In response to criticism over the planning


fi le, the authority has confi rmed that: • The correct application was made by the applicant;


• There is no strict evidential requirement for a certifi cate of lawfulness of proposed development;


• Since applications for a certifi cate of lawfulness of proposed development are a matter of law, the local planning authority does not consult on such matters externally;


• A certifi cate of lawfulness does not require an environmental impact assessment.


The complete planning fi le remains intact and includes all the documentation BASH suggests has been removed. Planning offi cers assisted Mr Belch by providing access to all relevant documentation within the planning and associated fi les for Boosbeck.


All information was readily provided at no cost, and at no time have offi cers engaged in deception or cover-up.


This included unplanned meetings with the Development Manager who spent a considerable amount of time with Mr Belch and associates explaining the Council’s position.


The Council is also aware of the lodging of a claim for a judicial review, but it is important to note that, even if such a review was successful, it may not prevent the re- opening of the abattoir.


Leader of Redcar & Cleveland Council


George Dunning said: “As leader of Redcar & Cleveland Council I am willing to meet with all parties to help resolve this issue.” Coastal View would like to thank BASH Committee members for this article and would like to reiterate that we are fully supportive and totally committed to your cause.


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