These are the 8 councillors who voted in favour of an application by Tesco to make alterations to The Emperor on Norwich Road, alterations that will allow Britain’s largest retailer to open yet another Tesco Express store in the town.
Five Labour and three Tory councillors voted in favour of the application, with only one councillor, Lib Dem Cathy French, voting against. The other Labour members of the committee sat on their hands, and the Chairman failed to ask if there were any abstentions.
The councillors who voted for were Peter Gardiner, Richard Kirby, Adam Leeder, John LeGrys, Barry Studd, David Goldsmith, Judy Terry and Mary Young.
At a packed meeting of the planning committee, held in the Orwell Room at Grafton House, councillors heard from representatives of Tesco, who insisted that they were aware of the strength of local feeling, but that the store would also create a valuable community resource, claiming it would create 20 jobs.
They also heard speeches against from councillor Andrew Cann and from councillor Carole Jones, two of the three ward councillors. Both raised significant concerns about the traffic likely to be generated by the proposed store, with Cllr Cann questioning the traffic count performed by computer and suggesting it was likely to be out by a fact of at eight. Concerns were also raised about deliveries, since the Tesco Express on the corner of Civic Drive and Norwich Road was regularly serviced by HGVs.
Whilst Tesco does not need planning permission to turn the pub into a store, they admitted that the alterations were the only way the store would be viable, so without them the project would have stalled. Local residents, many of whom actually use the pub, were hoping for that outcome.
Councillor Judy Terry spoke in favour of the application, insisting that people need to change their mindsets when it comes to this sort of application. She questioned the viability of the pub, suggesting the fact that another pub, serving a different type of clientele almost a mile away, was busy all the time was evidence that The Emperor was not needed by the community.
Campaigners were encouraged in recent weeks as the Borough Council acknowledged the pub was a community asset under the Localism Act. This gives them a Community Right to Buy, but with the planning permission granted today it looks like their dream, of a community owned and run pub for the benefit of the community, is dead.
It seemed to some in the audience that the biggest factor in many councillors decision was the reminder by a planning officer that the last time the refused one of these applications, on his advice that time, it ended up costing the council £60,000 in a costs award against it. This factor was mentioned by a number of councillors.
If that really is the case, it shows a remarkable streak of pure cowardice on the part of the councillors. The issues raised with the application were solid planning grounds, and could now end up being the basis of enforcement action against Tesco if they breach strict conditions laid down. Yet fighting the enforcement action may end up costing the threadbare planning team more money than fighting the original application would have done.
Filed under: Cock Ups, Ipswich Borough Council, Planning Tagged: | Adam Leeder, Andrew Cann, Barry Studd, Carole Jones, David Goldsmith, John LeGrys, Judy Terry, Mary Young, Peter Gardiner, Richard Kirby, Tesco, The Emperor PH
“but that the store would also create a valuable community resource, claiming it would create 20 jobs.” Yet again this mantra is trotted out. No mention of how many jobs will be lost as local independent shops are forced to close.
We estimate up to 37. The Coop, CK and bakers on Norwich Road in the direct vicinity employ 27 – 28 full and part-time workers. The Emperor in normal business mode might be expected to employ a further 7-8, Brewers and distribution, etc should be taken into account as well.
This district currently has no charity shops or betting shops, just well established businesses in a sustainable community.
Further; the local shops that would (will?) close, have a direct personal interest in Ipswich. For the directors of Tesco, Ipswich is of no more importance than their shops in Bydgoszcz and Wroclaw in Poland and elsewhere. The greed of this firm has to be seen to be believed. It’s all very well for UKIP to talk about putting Britain first. Where do they stand on putting ‘Localism’ first?
Show your feelings by opposing these councillors who do not care about other people’s local community (not theirs!) at the next local elections by NOT voting for them. Perhaps then we will have councillors that work to protect the interests of the community
It would seem that the councillors are afraid to stand up to and against the Tesco giants!! Does Norwich Road really need another food store?! What happened to the nice quiet area of the past? Tesco…..you are not needed!
John LeGrys clearly said that they don’t want another battle with Tesco. It was unbelievable. It was an act of pure cowardice on the part of all who voted apart from Kathy French.
Agree they appear to be running scared of the implications of any confrontation. The incredibly strong direction from Mr Miller to the committee was that they must NOT take into account any of the information submitted regarding traffic implications of the planning request. Was it a valid statement to make?
Also the comment by an other councilor that the traffic survey conducted by the amateur protestors should be ignored in favour of the survey done by the borough professionals – I must have missed something – as far as I know they had not done any surveys …but could be wrong on that.
The traffic ‘assessment’ is now available for all to see… though why it wasn’t made available to the public before the meeting I do not know – it defies belief – more credibility is given to surveys of the like of Beefeaters taken between 2000 and 2009 ( see small print when you examine the appendices at the end) than to up-to-date counts, albeit by perfectly capable members of the public in the freezing cold, on the reality of the situatin. A pub like the Emperor cannot be compared to restaurants/bistros such as these in terms of car-park use. To compound it – the planners are accepting that it is reasonable for Tesco to deduct these irrelevant numbers from their own (dubious) calculations, to indicate a minor increase in traffic! – thereby avoiding any full independent traffic assessment. As I speak, the emergency services have blocked off Norwich Road to deal with an accident. I also note that 10 objections were not noted by the case offer that were admitted within the legal time-frame, and that three of these came from an immediate neighbour(308), raising concerns about safety, congestion, noise, and the effect on their own business. This, as a member of the public, and therefore an amateur, is entirely unacceptable and irresponsible, and yes – we do protest…