Starr-Gate © email us starrgate@hotmail.co.uk
A Starr-gate resident has taken the bull by the horns and has challenged the legality of the Starr-Gate tram depot development. A judicial review took place on the 23rd November 2009 in Manchester High court to decide if the planning application had followed the correct legal process.
The court judged in Favour of the resident and the planning application was judged unlawful.
Its a valid planning application and the rules don’t apply to us. A development of this size doesn’t require an Environmental statement.
The Resident and Starr Gate Resident association member says the application has not followed the correct legal process for a development of this size. These rules are set out in law and now the application is to go in front of a judge to decide if the application has followed the correct process.
Planning committee a disgrace The plans laid in front of the council planning committee for the tram depot should never have been approved. In a close 5 to 4 vote in favour of the application the committee members were convinced that there was a time scale of 2012 to adhere to for the tram grants. In fact the point was made to the committee by the local MP Gordon Marsden that the Tram upgrade had until 2019 to be complete to gain the grants. How ever contracts for the upgrades had already been signed with financial penalties before planning approval had been given, and it was this time scale that the planning committee was told had to be adhered to otherwise the tram upgrade may be lost.-
The planning councillors have been totally misled!!
The Depot Plans
What the Liberal Democrats say?
What the BBC say?
23rd November 2009