No public hearing for the Sainsburys Appeal
Tuesday, 24 March 2015
The Appeal against Calderdale Council's decision to refuse the planning application for the Sainsbury supermarket on Valley Road, Hebden Bridge will not be a public hearing.
The Planning Inspectorate have accepted the view of both the Appellant and the Calderdale planning officers that the appeal will be best processed via an exchange of documents and a brief site visit by the Inspectorate.
This is a surprising decision because among the Planning Inspectorate's criteria for opting for either a public hearing or a full inquiry is the level of public interest shown in the decision.
But there is no reason to suppose that this quicker process will disadvantage Calderdale.
The 500 or more objectors including Hebden Royd Town Council will have an opportunity to restate and amplify their objection by posting on-line their objections by 23rd April. Here is the web link.
The appeal documents can be read here
Within two weeks of April 23rd there should be a site visit with a decision soon after.
See also: Parking chaos at Sainsburys in Mytholmroyd - YouTube video from Jason Elliott 25 March
More dismay at Sainsburys Appeal
Thursday, 19 March 2015
SOS Hebden Bridge have collected the "Post boxes" that have been up in the shops and cafes of Hebden Bridge. For the past 4 weeks townspeople have been posting pledges in these to oppose Sainsbury's in Hebden Bridge.
Organisers from SOS Hebden Bridge counted up the pledges completed so far. They have collected over 400 pledges.
The key issue is that Tuesday 17th March was the deadline for Sainsbury's to appeal against the refusal of planning permission for their development of the Old Fire Station Site in Hebden Bridge. At the last minute Sainsbury's submitted an appeal.
A spokesperson from SOS Hebden Bridge says "We are disappointed that, at the very last minute, Sainsbury's have put in an appeal. It seems our work is not over. We are going to do everything possible to prevent the appeal going through.
We are appealing to everyone who hasn't yet signed a pledge card to do so. There are post box collection points in shops and cafes in the town. We would like to raise the number of signed pledges to over 1000."
For more information contact: www.soshebdenbridge.org.uk.
Dismay at Sainsburys Appeal
Thursday, 19 March 2015
The Hebden Bridge Partnership is dismayed to learn of the last minute appeal made by the owners of the Old Fire Station site in Valley Road against the decision of the CMBC Council to refuse them planning permission to lease the site to a Sainsbury Store. If the appeal is upheld the opportunity will be lost for a more imaginative development of the site.
The SOS campaign in Hebden Bridge will use the opportunity of the appeal to rehearse all the sound arguments against this development. At the same time the HB Partnership will be working to develop a Town Consensus about an alternative use for the site and the Valley Road area more generally, including the CMBC Car Park and possibly the BT Site.
A Task Force of representatives of the HRTC, Calderdale Councillors, the SOS campaign and the Partnership is meeting next week to plan this work. Following on from recent consultation meetings organised in the town by both the HBP and SOS a possible consensus is emerging round the proposal to use the site for affordable housing. Any alternative will also need to address concerns about parking. Other imaginative ideas are in the mix.
The Task Force will engage the town in a further consultation about how to make better use of the Valley Road site. The idea is that a Town Consensus about a commercially viable but socially useful alternative to Sainsbury could play a part in influencing the outcome of the appeal. Alongside this the continued objection on strict planning grounds that the roads are not suitable for numerous deliveries by large vehicles will need to be restated.
See also:
HebWeb News: Say "No" to Sainsbury's. Say "Yes" to Hebden Bridge (24 Feb 2015)
HebWeb News: Save our Shops "Post boxes" (17 Feb 2015)
HebWeb News: Hebden Bridge head to head with Sainsbury's (16 Sept 2014)
HebWeb Forum - Sainsbury's planning meeting (Sept 2014)
HebWeb News: The Alternative to Sainsburys in Hebden Bridge (8 September 2014)
HebWeb News: Sainsbury's Plans resubmitted - without Retail Impact Assessment (15 July 2014)
Calderdale Planning: Application Summary
HebWeb News: Sainsbury's plans now online (30 Jan 2014)
HebWeb Forum - Sainsburys and Tescos survey (Feb 2014)
HebWeb News: Protests as Town Council discusses the Sainsburys bid (8 Jan 2014)
HebWeb Forum - Sainsburys and Tescos
HebWeb News - Jamie Oliver in Hebden Bridge. Hecklers question the wisdom of using Hebden Bridge to advertise a supermarket chain which puts small shops out of business. (October 2009)