A Bromham councillor has accused the borough’s planning department of ‘failing residents’ at a tense council meeting.
Ward councillor Robert Rigby (Conservative) said it was leaving Bromham “exposed” to speculative development, prompting a fellow committee member to defend council officers publicly.
The outline application for homes on land south of Northampton Road was returned to the planning committee (Monday, 17 November) following two deferrals from the July and August committee meetings.
The first deferral was to allow a site visit, and the second was to allow further negotiations with Bromham Parish Council.
Read: The latest news about planning applications in Bedford Borough
Cllr Rigby (Conservative) said: “When this planning application arrived, it was greeted with total despair by not only many residents, but also the parish council.
“Bromham had gone to great lengths to protect itself from applications like this by spending a considerable amount of money having a neighbourhood plan drawn up.
“Bromham believed it had protection through this plan, but sadly, the lack of a five-year land supply and the reluctance of our planning department to enforce it left Bromham exposed.
“Our planning department should be ashamed of themselves. I also warn those of you who are potentially in a very similar situation, this will happen to you as well.
“However, with a sense of reality, [the] parish council, realising it would happen whether they wanted it or not, took the decision to engage with the developer. And the positive outcome of this document came about through discussion and negotiation by both sides.”
Unjustified criticism
Speaking to Bromham residents, cllr Rigby added: “[This] would happen anyway if [the council] turned it down.”
Committee member, cllr Jim Weir (Conservative, Great Denham) immediately pushed back against Rigby’s claims, calling his criticism of officers unjustified.
“I don’t think we should be ashamed of our planning officers. I think that was a bit of a faux pas on Councillor Rigby’s part. I don’t think there’s any call for that.
“But it’s good to see that the parish council has been quite strong and have got what we needed for this development. The fact that we’re on a tilted balance situation with the lack of a five-year land supply [meant] this was definitely going to go ahead.”
The committee voted to grant planning permission.
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
