Residents will all be very much aware of the development that has been taking place on Church Road for some time.
They will probably also be aware that the parish council objected to the development when it was originally proposed in 2016 and Herefordshire Council refused permission.
Subsequent to that, an appeal was lodged and permission was eventually given by the Secretary of State inspector towards the end of 2019.
More recently, when the latest owner of the land looked to commence the approved development there have been a number of planning applications dealing with “pre commencement” matters that were due to be approved prior to any works on site commencing, but the work has continued on site despite those conditions not being discharged.
The parish council has regularly raised concerns about the failure to adhere to the legal planning process, negative impacts on the local area and residents and unacceptable proposals by the developer for dealing with important matters such as drainage.
Although the parish council, over the course of the construction, has managed to facilitate significant improvements in the drainage design, these have been hard fought and no action was ever taken, from an enforcement perspective, requiring the developer to cease activity on site until the remaining conditions were discharged. This was, and continues to be, incomprehensible to the parish council.
The parish council recently made a formal complaint to Herefordshire Council regarding this matter and their letter, along with the response from Herefordshire Council is available to view below.
The response is considered by the parish council to be lacking in substance and it is of the opinion that Herefordshire Council staff have not fully understood the local concerns. Following this exchange of letters, the parish council has asked for a face-to-face meeting with the staff members to facilitate improved working relationships in the future.
Formal Complaint Ref Church Road Development Final – June 2024
Formal Complaint Ref Church Road Development Final – Appendix 1 – June 2024
Formal Complaint Ref Church Road Development Final – Appendix 2 – June 2024
Formal Complaint Ref Church Road Development HC Response July 24