Residents development campaign group It’s Our City, which has proposed several different uses for the land that forms Lancaster’s massive and controversial Centros urban development plan, says it is “disappointed” that Lancaster City Council Planning Committee has voted to grant Centros outline planning permission for their proposed Canal Corridor North development.
“We are not, however, surprised,” said the group in a statement. “We fully expected that the majority of the Committee, with the honourable exception of the Green Party, would ignore the substantial written objections to the scheme submitted by organisations such as English Heritage, SAVE Britain’s Heritage, and the Victorian and Georgian Societies.
“The Committee also ignored the hundreds of objections submitted by members of the public, and those of Marketgate and St Nicolas Arcade.
“Many of these objections highlighted several aspects of planning policy which the proposed development would breach.
“Given what is at stake for Lancaster, It’s Our City will now campaign for this decision and the development to be examined properly before a public enquiry. Individual councillors will have to answer for why they voted to accept the Centros application.”
“It’s unfortunate that most of the Committee seemed to take this decision without thoroughly examining the information provided,” says Emilie Secker of It’s Our City. “During the debate, many councillors did not ask a single question of the officers and consultants concerning their reports. Nor did they bother to follow up the issues raised in the objections. I hope that they are prepared to defend this at the public enquiry.”
• For more on the It’s Our City campaign go to: www.itsourcity.org.uk
I am appalled to hear that Lancaster City Council has granted any level of acceptance to Centros! As a resident of Bath Mill I object completely to the proposals to build this “new city centre”, and back the Green Party in their protests.