When did Wirral Met. Bor. Council decide NOT to implement its own SPD2 Policy?

The request was refused by Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.

Dear Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council,

When did Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council make a decision that it was lawful for the Council NOT to implement certain of its own planning policies? Specifically, SPD2 Planning Policy (paragraph 5.8). Please see below:

THE BRIDGE COURT TREE PRESERVATION AREA, WEST KIRBY.

CONCERNING THE UNLAWFUL GRANT OF PLANNING PERMISSION

APP/13/00844 (30 August 2013).

WHO SHOULD HAVE UNDERSTOOD WIRRAL METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL’s SPD2 POLICY(par agraph 5.8) APPLYING TO SEPARATION DISTANCES?

· The Leader of Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council, (“the Council”) Councillor Phil Davies?

· The former CEO, for the Council [2012], Graham Burgess?

· The Director of Regeneration, Housing and Planning, for the Council, Kevin Adderley?

· The Assistant Director of Regeneration, Housing and Planning, for the Council, Paul Grey?

· The CEO of Magenta Living (formerly Wirral Partnership Homes), Brian Simpson?

· The IBI Nightingale Associates architect, Tim Kilpatrick?

· The Case Officer for the Planning Application, for the Council, Matthew Rushton?

· The Principal Planning Officer, for the Council, Matthew Rushton?

· The Head of Planning, for the Council, David Ball?

· The Development Management Manager, for the Council, Matthew Davies?

· Housing Minister [2012] Grant Shapps MP (who visited Bridge Court in 2012)?

· Wirral West MP [2012] Esther McVey?

· Members of the Planning Committee (22 August 2013) who approved the APP/13/00844 Planning Permission:

Councillor Bernie Mooney (Chair), Councillor Denise Realey (Vice-Chair), Councillor David M Elderton, Councillor Stuart Kelly, Councillor Phillip Brightmore, Councillor Anita Lynch, Councillor Joe Walsh, Councillor Irene Williams, Councillor Eddie Boult, Councillor Paul Hayes, Councillor Simon R Mountney, Councillor Patricia Glasman (Deputy), Councillor Les Rowlands (Deputy)?

· Magenta Living Board Directors:

Councillor Stuart Whittingham, Councillor Jeff Green (a former Leader of the Council), Councillor Steve Foulkes (a former Leader of the Council, formerly Chair of the Council's Planning Committee, and currently Chair of the Regional Housing Board, a Member of Merseytravel and a Member of the City Region Cabinet and Local Enterprise Board, as well as being a Council Planning Committee member) and Councillor Bill Davies?

Did any of those named above actually read the Council’s SPD2 policy?

Did any of those named above understand the Council’s SPD2 policy?

SOMEBODY SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE UNLAWFUL DEVELOPMENT OF TWO, HUGE BLOCKS OF FLATS (BLOCK ‘A’ and ‘BLOCK ‘B’) inside the BRIDGE COURT TREE PRESERVATION AREA, WEST KIRBY.

Will any, of those named above, accept that the APP/13/00844 planning permission was UNLAWFULLY granted?

Many West Kirby residents are aware of the world famous artist, Charles Hutton Lear, and of the influence that his former garden, the Bridge Court Tree Preservation Area, had on some of his oil paintings. These residents want to see the Bridge Court Tree Preservation Area returned to its former condition, as an area of Urban Greenspace (with eleven different species of tree) for the benefit of present and future generations.

THE DESTRUCTION OF THE BRIDGE COURT TREE PRESERVATION AREA, BY MAGENTA LIVING, SHOULD BE STOPPED, IMMEDIATELY.

For more information, Google:

(i) Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.SPD2 Policy. Go to Paragraph 5.8

(ii) What do they know.com

(iii) West Kirby.renewal

Alan Rundle. West Kirby. January 2016.

**************************************************************************************

Local Development Framework for Wirral

Adoption Statement (Regulation 19)
Supplementary Planning Document
SPD2 - Designing For Self Contained Flat Development & Conversions

Adopted 30 October 2006

Paragraph 5.8 states:

"Unless it can be demonstrated that privacy would not be unduly affected, habitable room windows directly facing each other should be at least 21 metres apart. Main habitable room windows should be at least 14 metres from any blank gable. If there are differences in land levels or where development adjoins that of different ridge height, such as three storey development adjacent to two storey property, a greater separation should be provided. For every metre difference in ridge height (or part thereof) the above distances should be increased by 2 metres."

________________________________________________________________________

The Council has erred in law by failing to implement planning policy SPD2 (Google:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=wirral...).

The proposed 12.2 metre flats should be at least 33 metres from the existing 7 metre terraced houses in Bridge Road, West Kirby, not 23 metres, as proposed by the Council. The Council's own calculation of the Separation Distance between the proposed Block 'A' and the terraced housing in Bridge Road is flawed. If the Council approves buildings with habitable rooms facing the existing terraced housing in Bridge Road, at a distance of 23 metres, then the height of the proposed buildings should be 8 metres and not 12.2 metres. The SPD2 policy (paragraph 5.8) should have been followed, having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the adopted Unitary Development Plan.

The correct calculation of the Separation Distance:

21 metres + (13m-7m = 6m x2 = 12m). 21m + 12m = 33metres.

The Separation Distance calculation that the Council appears to have made:

21 metres + 2metres = 23 metres.

The existing terraced houses, in Bridge Road, have habitable rooms which are to be overlooked by habitable rooms of four storeys (12.2 metres of Block 'A'). If Block 'A' is built, as proposed, as the result of a simple, mathematical miscalculation, West Kirby residents will have to live with the huge structure of Block 'A', which clearly breaches the Council's own SPD2 policy, for decades into the future. This is not acceptable.

Yours faithfully,

Alan Rundle

InfoMgr, FinDMT, Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council

Dear Mr Rundle

Thank you for your email.

The Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations cover recorded information held by a public body. The questions you have asked are not for recorded information, and your enquiry therefore does not constitute a valid request under the legislation.

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Yours sincerely,

Andy Henderson
Information Management Officer

Information Management
Legal & Member Services
Transformation & Resources Department
Wallasey Town Hall
Brighton Street
Wallasey
Wirral
CH44 8ED 

-----Original Message-----
From: Alan Rundle [mailto:[FOI #310421 email]]
Sent: 13 January 2016 08:05
To: InfoMgr, FinDMT
Subject: EIR 989696 - Alan Rundle - Council Adherence to SPD2 Planning Policy - Due 10.02.2016

Dear Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council,

When did Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council make a decision that
it was lawful for the Council NOT to implement certain of its own
planning policies? Specifically, SPD2 Planning Policy (paragraph
5.8). Please see below:

THE BRIDGE COURT TREE PRESERVATION AREA, WEST KIRBY.

CONCERNING THE UNLAWFUL GRANT OF PLANNING PERMISSION

APP/13/00844 (30 August 2013).

WHO SHOULD HAVE UNDERSTOOD WIRRAL METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL’s
SPD2 POLICY(par agraph 5.8) APPLYING TO SEPARATION DISTANCES?

· The Leader of Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council, (“the
Council”) Councillor Phil Davies?

· The former CEO, for the Council [2012], Graham Burgess?

· The Director of Regeneration, Housing and Planning, for the
Council, Kevin Adderley?

· The Assistant Director of Regeneration, Housing and Planning, for
the Council, Paul Grey?

· The CEO of Magenta Living (formerly Wirral Partnership Homes),
Brian Simpson?

· The IBI Nightingale Associates architect, Tim Kilpatrick?

· The Case Officer for the Planning Application, for the Council,
Matthew Rushton?

· The Principal Planning Officer, for the Council, Matthew Rushton?

· The Head of Planning, for the Council, David Ball?

· The Development Management Manager, for the Council, Matthew
Davies?

· Housing Minister [2012] Grant Shapps MP (who visited Bridge Court
in 2012)?

· Wirral West MP [2012] Esther McVey?

· Members of the Planning Committee (22 August 2013) who approved
the APP/13/00844 Planning Permission:

Councillor Bernie Mooney (Chair), Councillor Denise Realey
(Vice-Chair), Councillor David M Elderton, Councillor Stuart Kelly,
Councillor Phillip Brightmore, Councillor Anita Lynch, Councillor
Joe Walsh, Councillor Irene Williams, Councillor Eddie Boult,
Councillor Paul Hayes, Councillor Simon R Mountney, Councillor
Patricia Glasman (Deputy), Councillor Les Rowlands (Deputy)?

· Magenta Living Board Directors:

Councillor Stuart Whittingham, Councillor Jeff Green (a former
Leader of the Council), Councillor Steve Foulkes (a former Leader
of the Council, formerly Chair of the Council's Planning Committee,
and currently Chair of the Regional Housing Board, a Member of
Merseytravel and a Member of the City Region Cabinet and Local
Enterprise Board, as well as being a Council Planning Committee
member) and Councillor Bill Davies?

Did any of those named above actually read the Council’s SPD2
policy?

Did any of those named above understand the Council’s SPD2 policy?

SOMEBODY SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE
UNLAWFUL DEVELOPMENT OF TWO, HUGE BLOCKS OF FLATS (BLOCK ‘A’ and
‘BLOCK ‘B’) inside the BRIDGE COURT TREE PRESERVATION AREA, WEST
KIRBY.

Will any, of those named above, accept that the APP/13/00844
planning permission was UNLAWFULLY granted?

Many West Kirby residents are aware of the world famous artist,
Charles Hutton Lear, and of the influence that his former garden,
the Bridge Court Tree Preservation Area, had on some of his oil
paintings. These residents want to see the Bridge Court Tree
Preservation Area returned to its former condition, as an area of
Urban Greenspace (with eleven different species of tree) for the
benefit of present and future generations.

THE DESTRUCTION OF THE BRIDGE COURT TREE PRESERVATION AREA, BY
MAGENTA LIVING, SHOULD BE STOPPED, IMMEDIATELY.

For more information, Google:

(i) Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.SPD2 Policy. Go to
Paragraph 5.8

(ii) What do they know.com

(iii) West Kirby.renewal

Alan Rundle. West Kirby. January 2016.

**************************************************************************************

Local Development Framework for Wirral

Adoption Statement (Regulation 19)
Supplementary Planning Document
SPD2 - Designing For Self Contained Flat Development & Conversions

Adopted 30 October 2006

Paragraph 5.8 states:

"Unless it can be demonstrated that privacy would not be unduly
affected, habitable room windows directly facing each other should
be at least 21 metres apart. Main habitable room windows should be
at least 14 metres from any blank gable. If there are differences
in land levels or where development adjoins that of different ridge
height, such as three storey development adjacent to two storey
property, a greater separation should be provided. For every metre
difference in ridge height (or part thereof) the above distances
should be increased by 2 metres."

________________________________________________________________________

The Council has erred in law by failing to implement planning
policy SPD2 (Google:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=wirral...).

The proposed 12.2 metre flats should be at least 33 metres from the
existing 7 metre terraced houses in Bridge Road, West Kirby, not 23
metres, as proposed by the Council. The Council's own calculation
of the Separation Distance between the proposed Block 'A' and the
terraced housing in Bridge Road is flawed. If the Council approves
buildings with habitable rooms facing the existing terraced housing
in Bridge Road, at a distance of 23 metres, then the height of the
proposed buildings should be 8 metres and not 12.2 metres. The SPD2
policy (paragraph 5.8) should have been followed, having regard to
the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the adopted
Unitary Development Plan.

The correct calculation of the Separation Distance:

21 metres + (13m-7m = 6m x2 = 12m). 21m + 12m = 33metres.

The Separation Distance calculation that the Council appears to
have made:

21 metres + 2metres = 23 metres.

The existing terraced houses, in Bridge Road, have habitable rooms
which are to be overlooked by habitable rooms of four storeys (12.2
metres of Block 'A'). If Block 'A' is built, as proposed, as the
result of a simple, mathematical miscalculation, West Kirby
residents will have to live with the huge structure of Block 'A',
which clearly breaches the Council's own SPD2 policy, for decades
into the future. This is not acceptable.

Yours faithfully,

Alan Rundle

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Derick Barnes left an annotation ()

WMBC in refusing to answer this request has raised another important question ,--Why is it so important for WMBC not to reveal the answer?