New planning battle kicks off
7/10/09It is now clear that the Harbour Revision Order that was enacted on September 16th gives Cornwall Council and the Route Partnership most of the permissions that they need to build their passenger and freight terminals on Battery Rocks beach. Importantly though they still need to secure Listed Building Consent before any work can commence.
The Harbour Revision Order (HRO) was applied for and the window for objections closed in 2005. At the time no-one knew about the HRO and what it meant for Penzance seafront and now we are being denied the opportunity to object to the totality of the plans through the normal planning process.
Indeed, when Cornwall Council applied for planning permission in May of this year they cannot have been aware of the planning implications of the HRO or they wouldn’t have made the applications they did. Now they know and when they resubmit their plans next week it will only be for a small part of the works that were contained in the previous planning applications.
However, Cornwall Council still need to secure “listed building consent” for the whole of the plans; the pier extension, rock armouring and the area they are creating for a passenger and freight terminal all impact on the listed South and Lighthouse Piers. Without this consent the project cannot go ahead. However, the final decision about whether or not to grant listed building consent cannot be taken locally; the application for listed building consent will go before the local planning committees and they can make a recommendation but the final decision will be taken by the Secretary of State who will be advised by English Heritage.
Cornwall Council will also have to apply for planning permission for certain elements of the scheme not covered by the HRO; these include construction of a covered walkway, the installation of new gates on the entrance to the reclaimed area, a temporary works access to the site, and the new seawall above reclaimed ground level (the wall up to ground level is included in the HRO). Obviously the project cannot go ahead without the new seawall!
Something called “prior approval” is also needed for certain other works, and this can be withheld by the planning authorities in certain circumstances. There is some uncertainty about what requires “prior approval”. The planning department’s legal advice says that only the pier extension requires prior approval but our own reading of the regulations suggests this may also extend to the rock armouring, reclaimed area and the passenger and freight terminals. This is important because the planning authority can withhold consent if the development could reasonably be carried out on land and/or the design/appearance could be improved. The FoPzH will be seeking its own expert advice to clarify exactly what the “prior approval” applies to. However Cornwall Council has already advertised their intention to apply for “prior approval” for the pier extension and the public have until October 21st to make representations to the Council.
The FoPzH are also trying to find out if the planning department are correct in saying that Conservation Area consent is not required. It is likely to be just one interpretation of the regulations, and an odd one given the scale of the development and its proximity to the Conservation Area.
The FoPzH are also continuing to investigate options for challenging the HRO.
The Cornwall Council briefing describing their interpretation of the planning situation in respect of the scheme can be found below. This was presented to members of the West Area and Strategic planning committee at a meeting in Penzance on October 5th.
Cornwall Council planning briefing : download pdf | view pdf