Planning Matters

Fri 18 Aug 2017, 17:30 (last edited on Fri 18 Aug 2017, 17:31)

It's nice to know we have people scrutinising every planning decision locally to make sure they are legally watertight. Those desperately needing affordable housing and extra care accommodation will be reassured by this.

Thu 17 Aug 2017, 16:42

I agree with Stephen & Alan's comments, an excellent summary from an expert
As I have no experience in this area I googled judicial review with the following result

'Judicial review (JR) is the process of challenging the lawfulness of decisions of public authorities, usually local or central government. The court has a "supervisory" role - making sure the decision maker acts lawfully. It is important to understand that a JR is not a re-run on the merits of the decision but a challenge to the lawfulness of the decision that was made'

The fact that WODC were not prepared to defend the judicial review leads to a simple conclusion

I feel that even those in favour of the Rushy Bank development would want to know that WODC are acting legally in deciding future developments, particularly those that they might disagree with!

Wed 16 Aug 2017, 07:35

Balanced and informative. Great insight into the machinations of the 'democratic process' of government. I'm just about to read it for the second time.

Tue 15 Aug 2017, 15:45

Rod - thank you very much for writing such an informative post, without grinding any axes. I certainly don't think the planning issues facing the town are boring, since they affect all our futures. As an occasional nimby myself, I particularly appreciated your recognition that it is just as likely to be the anti-nimbies who lazily fail to weigh up the relevant pros and cons as it is to be the nimbies.

Tue 15 Aug 2017, 14:59 (last edited on Wed 16 Aug 2017, 10:29)

A few years ago I bumped into a former colleague in a pub (where else?). When I told him I was working 'in planning' his reply was 'oh planning's boring.' Well you wouldn't think so from some of the more heated comments on this Forum. Which is why I thought…

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