That's what's happening to householders in Hooke Close, Corby, Northamptonshire, after the council mistakenly consulted residents of Hubble Road. The council didn't think it fishy that nobody had raised any objections, and the planning application was duly approved.
What adds insult to injury is that the council refuses to accept any blame and presumably won't give the aggrieved residents any compensation.
They maintain that as there was a planning notice on the site, and as there was a notice in the local press, they've done their legal duty and nothing more needs to be done. But it seems none of the residents saw either notice.
Council leader Jason Smithers' reaction was pathetic. He said he understood the residents' frustration, he apologised for the error, and he pledged that he council would do all it could to ensure a similar issue didn't happen again.
That's okay then. The residents just have to suck it up because the council washes its hands of any responsibility. In other words, fuck you.
Never mind that the price of houses in Hooke Close will plummet because nobody wants a stonking great warehouse behind their back garden. Never mind that there will be heavy lorries rumbling in and out all day. Never mind that the building work is shaking people's houses.
As long as Mr Smithers has "apologised for the error", everything's just fine.
Anonymous Fly. And how are the residents to get enough money to contest this in court? They're not.
ReplyDeleteFly: Indeed. And even if they did, the council's lawyers would no doubt flatten them with some obscure legal precedent.
DeleteHaving been a victim myself of losing a fortune on my last house due to the unfettered rights of the Lord of the Town building obscene warehouses (yeah, plural) on a residential site beside my property I can so relate. It is awful to feel so powerless to stop the endless legal $$$ power of these invaders.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see a legal expert come forward and do some freebie work for them.
XO
WWW
www: If some lawyer was prepared to do some pro bono work for the residents, that would be brilliant.
DeleteHow was the mistake not discovered earlier? I would think the homeowners would have questioned it on day one when trucks moved in for groundbreaking.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: I was wondering that. Lazy journalists don't ask the obvious questions. Maybe the residents did object early on but the council stonewalled them so they went to the media.
DeleteOh dang, that is not right at all.
ReplyDeleteMary: The council's high-handed attitude is shocking.
DeleteI would be furious. I really hope this was not an underhanded way the warehouse did to slide right through without issue. I think it is so very wrong to allow commercial property built in residential area.
ReplyDeletePaula: You could be right about the warehouse owners sliding it through by keeping the planning application very quiet. As you say, it's a completely inappropriate site for a warehouse.
DeleteWow, Nick, I looked an relooked at the photo and this is indeed a completely inappropriate location for this warehouse. I do feel sorry for the homeowners for all the reasons you mentioned. Someone really wasn't on the ball in this case and the apology just doesn't cut it.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice: The council certainly weren't on the ball. Somebody should have double and treble checked the road they were consulting in case it was wrong.
DeleteSounds to me like there's some bribes involved. That's not a mistake that people just make and don't check or fix
ReplyDeleteKylie: There's definitely a sense of something fishy, when a whacking great warehouse can be built without massive opposition from the locals at a very early stage.
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