Residents set for day in court (From Watford Observer)

Residents set for day in court

10:28am Wednesday 17th September 2008 in News

A plan to build six houses and three flats on backgarden land in Watford has been deferred for a second time, as furious residents prepare to do battle in the High Court.

Previously, an application to build 11 homes on land bordered by Ridge Lane and Gammons Lane was approved by a planning inspector, following their rejection by Watford Borough Council and in the face of massive public opposition.

Members of The Ridge Association lodged a judicial review against the inspector's decision, which will be heard in February 2009.

But a second application submitted by Visao Ltd for six homes and three flats on the same land was deferred again on Thursday, September 4.

The judicial review centres on the impact of the development on a outlier badger sett. But a report from the Hertfordshire Biological Records Centre suggested there is no evidence of wildlife constraints and the sett itself was shut by Natural England in August.

As a result, council officers felt there was "no good reason" why the second application should continue to be deferred and it was placed on the agenda for the Development Control Committee.

Councillor Rabi Martins, backed by Steve Rackett and George Derbyshire, said it should be deferred until the outcome of legal proceedings.

Councillor Derbyshire said: "To me, it's a situation of fairness. It seems to be fair to everyone all round that residents should have their day in court and then, depending on what that situation is, we should look at the new application again.

To spontaneous applause from a packed council chamber, the committee voted to defer the application on a majority decision.

Steve Johnson, of The Ridge Association, said after the meeting: "We're just pleased that common sense has prevailed and the committee made the right decision. We're just pleased we have our day in court. We are very confident and have a strong case."

However, Innes Gray, from Consensus Planning on behalf of the developers, said: "They (the residents) have really got no case at all. They are just clutching at straws.

"They have challenged on five grounds - three relate to badgers and we've closed the sett now. They have no case."