Page 10 - Ashbourne Park

STEPS TOWARDS AN AGREED STATEMENT OF FACTS
And stipulations

1 The Current Application (Continued)

Appendix E1 sets out details of the dwellings proposed in the current application and can be
summarised as follows:

No of Type Total Average Parking
Blocks Market Afford Total 1 bed 2 bed Floor Floor Page | 2
area sq area Open Covered Total
ft Sq. Ft
7 50 21 71 18 53 49,635 699 78 15 93
Table 1: Summary of accommodation on the WH-EDF site
The road A-A on Figure 1 would only make sense if the intention was to share it with the
adjoining WH:LIC site, but no application had been made in respect of it. This was one of the
mysteries of the current application and was the first indication of a much larger development
incorporating the WH:EDF, WH:LIC and WH:LIC sites.

2 THE INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT
The current application was first loaded onto the MSDC website in May 2018 but was
removed when objections were raised that AWVC had not been consulted. In fairness to
Ashgrove Homes Ltd, this omission was based on advice from its professional town planning
experts (see paragraph 5.3 page 16) that a pre-application meeting with MSDC in 2016 (on an
entirely different application- DM/16/2854 for WH:EDF) was sufficient consultation and did
not need repeating.

This was bad advice. It created the impression that the application was being bludgeoned
through to circumvent AWVC - as was required by the Localisation Act 2011 - and the
National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). It was a breach of protocol and was made
more worrying by MSDC’s acceptance of the application knowing, or having good reason to
suspect, that it was in breach.
The application was withdrawn from MSDC’s website and AHL required to consult with
AWVC and village residents. This consultation took place on 29 May 2018 in Ashurst Wood
th
Village Hall. I spoke with Mr Peter Owen the Managing Director of AHL.

I had been told by neighbours, who had attended earlier, that Mr Owen had been “arrogant
and dismissive” and in response to criticism is alleged to have said that:

• “If people didn’t like the additional traffic resulting from the development they should
move”;

• “People living in flats don’t need gardens and the kids can play in the woods”;
• “Eventually, everyone will live in small flats.”

I found Mr Owen and his colleagues, competent, pleasant and prepared to listen. But they
gave the impression of being perhaps over-confident that MSDC would approve the
application, regardless of local opposition.