6:30pm Thursday 2nd September 2010
By Rachel Fitch
Colchester Council has agreed to lease land for a travellers’ site off Severalls Lane, even though there is no planning permission for one to exist.
The council has agreed to lease the land to Essex County Council for the 12-pitch site. The move has been slammed by campaigners.
They recently celebrated when planning permission ran out for the site with no work having started, and Councillor Gerard Oxford has officially “called in” the decision for further investigation.
Mr Oxford, who represents Highwoods, told a meeting of the council’s finance and scrutiny panel he believed the county council needed to go through the planning process again before the lease could be discussed.
He said: “We are putting the cart before the horse.
“This process, throughout the last eight years, has been handled badly.
“It would be nice if we could do it right now for a change.”
He believed the lease terms did not retain enough authority for Colchester Council as the landowner.
Speaking as a member of the public, fellow ward councillor Beverley Oxford also raised concerns before the panel, and claimed Essex County Council had “used arrogance to push ahead regardless” with its scheme.
But the panel stood by the decision of Paul Smith, councillor responsible for resources and diversity, to sign the lease terms.
It accepted agreeing lease terms before planning permission had been granted was normal proceedure for both the council and commerical businesses.
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