Tesco’s second appeal
As you may know, Tesco has appealed against the Council’s decision in July to refuse their application for air conditioning and refrigeration plant. This is (technically) unconnected to the previous appeal against the council’s March 2007 rejection of the extension and air conditioning and refrigeration plant (the one heard at the public inquiry a month ago), so the outcome of this appeal won’t depend in any way on the outcome of the previous appeal.
This means that there will be a second public inquiry, which will be held at some point in 2009. As with the inquiry into the original application, we have all been invited to give our written comments to the planning inspector. The deadline for comments is 11 November (Tuesday of next week).
Some suggested grounds for objection to the application in July can be found at:
http://www.nomillroadtesco.org/planning-applications/june-2008-application/
Since this is the application that is now being appealed, these objections still stand. It is worth noting that at the last public inquiry (into the application for an extension and air conditioning and refrigeration plant) Tesco confirmed that a store would not be viable unless they could use 10.35 metre lorries to make some of their daily deliveries. This means that if this application for plant is approved then Tesco will definitely use these large vehicles.
Tesco will try to argue that this is just a bit of air conditioning and refrigeration equipment so that issues such as deliveries, parking, and waste and other storage issues are irrelevant. It would be a good idea to mention in your letter (and in your own words) that:
The refrigeration and air conditioning plant is necessary for Tesco to open a store on this site, so any issue relating to the impact of the proposed store on neighbouring homes or on traffic congestion and road safety is directly relevant to the application. This is because approving the application would cause these effects by allowing the store to open. If the store cannot open, these effects will not occur. As a result, they should be considered as part of this appeal.
Please remember that it is not likely to be the same planning inspector as last time, so they will not be familiar with the case or the campaign. That means we need to explain, all over again, what the problems are with a Tesco store on this site (delivery impacts on road safety and traffic congestion in particular).
You can submit comments online at:
http://www.pcs.planningportal.gov.uk/pcsportal/makerep.asp?caseaddress=COO.2036.300.8.309744
or send 3 hard copies of your objections to:
The Planning Inspectorate,
3/16 Eagle Wing
Temple Quay House
2 The Square
Temple Quay
Bristol BS1 6PN
The Planning Reference for this appeal is 08/0794/FUL
Land at 163-167 Mill Road, Cambridge
PI Ref – APP/Q0505/A/08/2085159/NWF
(Please be aware that if you submit your comments through the planning portal, any personal information you include (such as contact details) will be visible to anyone who choses to read your objection online.)
