Planning - a slow process on sensitive sites.

I see in the Suffolk Free Press that Robert Audley, the CEO and owner of Prolog, is blaming the loss of 60 jobs at the company on delays in granting planning permission on land in Chilton.

I am very sorry to read that jobs have been lost, particularly given the current economic climate.  However,  I think that if Mr Audley wanted to build his monster warehouses at speed and with ease he should have chosen a site further from valuable heritage assets and residential properties.

The decision to designate land for employment use in that particular place has been controversial for years. It has always been recognised as a sensitive plot.  In fact, under the first Local Plan in which it was included, a height restriction of 9 metres was placed on any buildings to be built there.  Sadly, whether by accident or design, this restriction was subsequently lost in translation from one plan to the next.

It is worth pointing out in this connection, that the planning process proved to be very speedy indeed for the Suffolk Primary Care Trust when it sought permission to build the proposed Health Centre on the site immediately next to the Prolog site.   The process only took a few months from start to finish. This might of course have been because the planned building is of a high quality of design and, following representations from local people, was reduced in height by one storey at the planning stage, while its footprint was enlarged.   The PCT was careful to undertake a constructive process of public exhibition and consultation prior to submission of the planning application.

There may be one or two lessons here for Prolog.