Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations made. Councillor Bianco acknowledged that, in his professional life he had acted for, inter alia, Kier Property. He did not consider that this had any material bearing on the proceedings of the petition hearing.

Councillor Jane Palmer attended the meeting.

In accordance with the Council's Constitution a representative of the petition addressed the meeting in support of the petition and, along with other speakers, highlighted the following:

·           The petitioners and people of Harefield were broadly in support of the proposal to provide a youth centre in the village.

·           The petitioners were totally opposed to the proposed location of the youth centre as it would result in an unacceptable level of noise and disturbance.

·           The site was too small and the proximity to residential properties would result in a loss of privacy and the loss of a valuable piece of amenity land.

·           The access to the site was too small and there would be inadequate parking.

·           There had been a total lack of consultation with residents concerning the proposal and the amount of opposition to the planning application had not been adequately taken into account by the Planning Committee when granting approval.

·           The Planning Committee had made their decision based on inadequate or inaccurate technical information.

·           The proposal would affect the local bat population.

·           There did not appear to have been adequate consideration given to a number of alternative, local sites, better suited to this proposal such as Harefield Academy, Moorhall Road, Northwood Way and the existing Community Centre.

·           The proposal, as it stood, would be inadequate to meet the needs of local young people and the hours and type of use had not been stipulated.

·           The site would be very difficult to police in an area that already suffered from a certain amount of anti social behaviour.

·           The level of financial commitment to the project by the Council could have been spent much more usefully on other, much needed improvements to the area.

Councillor Palmer addressed the Hearing in support of the petition. She agreed that not enough attention had been given to the wishes of the residents who she considered to have reasonable and genuine concerns. As Ward Councillor she had not been made aware of any analysis of other options having been conducted and felt that this should be done before a decision to continue with the proposed development was taken. Councillor Palmer considered that the decision to proceed with preparatory works at the site had been insensitive and insulting.

Councillor Bianco thanked all those present for their contributions and noted that there were some difficulties in planning terms with some of the other locations that had been suggested. Nonetheless he confirmed that no decision would be taken at the meeting. Instead, he would consider all the points raised with officers before making a final decision which would then be communicated to the Lead Petitioner in writing.