Anger over Highgate planning decision

There is anger in Highgate over the Council's refusal to allow a controversial planning application to come before the planning committee.

The plans involve adding a floor to a block of flats called Kempton House, which lies between two listed buildings overlooking the Highgate bowl, Furnival House, and Cholmeley Lodge (see pic).

The very controversial Planning Committee Chair, Labour’s Sheila Peacock*, is refusing to allow this decision to come before the boroughs’ planning committee. This is despite a large body of objectors, who are entitled to ‘their day in court’ at the Planning Committee. They pay for it, after all.

How Sheila Peacock has been put in this responsible position by her colleagues is a mystery to me. I suspect is depends on presenting herself as injecting efficiency into the planning process by speeding up decision-making, and cutting down the number of appeals that the Council has to endure from applicants.

Councillors are often told that if they challenge council decisions, the Council (and thus the taxpayer) could have to foot the bills for costly appeals. This is very dubious. The Council hadly ever has to pay the costs, as the answer to a written question I tabled at the last Full Council shows. 

It has only happened four times since 2004, despite over 550 cases referred to the inspectors.

*Sheila Peacock has been found in the past to have breached the Members' Code of Conduct by failing to declare an interest over a planning application.