Planners are accused of 'sabotaging' garage build
PLANNERS have actively tried to sabotage a major construction project on a derelict site, by refusing planning permission for a car garage and showroom, after more than a year of pre-application discussions, a leading architect has said.
Lovell Ozanne director Andrew Ozanne has been working on a planning application for the former Esso site on Bulwer Avenue since 2014, before submitting an application in 2015, along with a £10,000 application fee.
Yet he was shocked when it was rejected on the grounds of appearance – an issue which he said had been dealt with in discussions with the planners.
During a planning appeal, it was revealed that the planners had considered the application for eight months, but carried out a design report only a few days before the refusal was given.
The appeal has now been rejected on design also.
'We thought we had an acceptable design solution,' Mr Ozanne said.
'We had discussions, but we thought we had resolved it... this has cost the States a lot of money.
'We would not have submitted it otherwise, as it would waste our client's money and application fee, our time and planners' time.'
However, Planning Services has rejected Mr Ozanne's claims, stating that from the outset Mr Ozanne he had been warned that the existing design did not respect the road frontage of the site.
