Sixfields football ground development must be in the best interests of whole town says Lib Dems

1.00.00pm GMT Sat 17th Dec 2005

Tony Woods "We are clear that any development must be based on the needs of local people and must not draw life from the town centre"

Suggestions that the Liberal Democrats have 'thrown a spanner in the works' or are acting to delay decisions that will allow the redevelopment of the football stadium at Sixfields are unfair. We have 'called in' the Cabinet's decision of 5th December for four reasons. In doing so we hope to convince the Cabinet that the proper processes of planning law must be followed scrupulously otherwise the decision will be subject to external challenge with potentially disastrous consequences for the Council, the town and the football club.

Our reasons for call in are:-

1. The decision is potentially unsafe and may put the Council at significant risk.

The Borough Council are responsible for drawing up local plans - i.e. the local planning policies for the use and zoning of land within the town - within a framework set out by central government. Failure to do this properly, with clear evidence of why decisions have been taken and full public and stakeholder consultation would leave the Council open to various challenges including:-

• Planning polices could be called in by the Secretary of State for review and potentially to be changed. This process would introduce very significant delays - sometimes of several years.

• Landowners might challenge the validity of the planning policies developed without full evidence and public consultation by requesting a judicial review.

• The Council might be sued for a wide variety of costs.

• Given the Council's well-publicised 'poor' status, the Local Government Minister might decide we were incompetent to run our own affairs and put the Council into 'special measures'.

2. The decision pre-empts proper evaluation of alternatives to provide the best possible District Centre facilities for the present and future residents of the South West District having a view to the needs of all stakeholders and of the wider needs of the town.

The plan making process is reasonably well advanced for a 'Local Action Plan' providing a new district centre and a major gateway to the town at Sixfields. This work has been undertaken in a deliberative and detailed manner and subject to considerable public and stakeholder consultation. Although it has not been adopted it has, in planning law, some significant status as the 'emerging' local action plan.

Because of concerns expressed by the WNDC regarding the phasing of Local Action Plans for the Town Centre, Sixfields and other major sites it was agreed to ensure that the town centre plans would come forward first and that developments in district centres should not adversely affect the vitality and viability of the town centre.

By rejecting their officers' advice the Cabinet may be seen as ignoring the interests of the current and future residents of the south west districts of the town and, indeed, the wider interests of the town as a whole. If this was seen to be the case it is very likely that any resulting planning policy would be open to challenge.

3. The decision is potentially contrary to the emerging Local Action Plan that has been the subject of considerable consultation with residents and stakeholders.

There has been considerable work undertaken on the 'emerging' Local Action Plan based on the development of a district centre on the Weedon Road and it has been he subject of extensive consultation with local residents, businesses and landowners. As such it has some status in planning law even though it has not yet been formally adopted.

Therefore, any process to move to an alternative solution must be judged against this emerging plan. There must be full consultation on any new plans and on the reasons for changing from the emerging plan. Failure to do so may result in considerable delays and lay the Council open to challenge.

4. The decision is likely to lead to considerable additional delays and uncertainties for all stakeholders.

Unless the planning process is clear, fair and deliberative, based on reliable evidence and includes full public consultation it will not be robust enough to survive various potential challenges detailed above.

Claims by David Cardoza that Liberal Democrats 'had no problems' with the scheme are disingenuous. Tony Woods was shown plans for the stadium and a hotel some months ago but given only the very sketchiest outline of the district centre development. Tony Woods said today "The plans for the stadium are great but we have always expressed concerns over the idea of locating a large, shed based shopping centre close to the Storton Pits nature reserve. We are clear that any development must be based on the needs of local people and must not draw life from the town centre".

Tony Woods also expressed concern that people did not understand the Scrutiny process. He said "Call In is an important 'quality control' function designed to ensure that decisions taken by Cabinet are robust and will survive external challenge. We are worried this decision leaves the Council open to both legal and financial penalties ad could result in long delays in getting a final decision. We have called it in for the good of everyone - including the football club and their supporters who deserve a final answer as soon as possible".

The Cabinet have the right to accept or reject the recommendations of Overview & Scrutiny following a Call In. On receiving Scrutiny's report they can:-

• Reaffirm their previous decision

• Modify or change their decision either

o In line with any recommendations from Overview & Scrutiny or

o To a new decision

Call In is an important part of the democratic process. It allows for decisions to be reviewed and inspected to ensure they are sound and will stand up to external challenge. It should not be used for political opposition - and has not been in this case.