Legal
challenge against UDP lodged in High
Court
The Dinedor Hill Action Association Ltd
yesterday 14th May 2007, lodged a legal challenge in the
High Court under Section 287 of the Town and Country
Planning Act, against the allocation of land for housing at
Bullinghope in the Herefordshire Council Unitary
Development Plan.
This challenge has been made because we believe that the
Council has manipulated the democratic UDP process to
allocate land at Bullinghope for housing with the sole
purpose of using money from the developer to pay for the
Rotherwas Access Road. In doing so, the Council has:
• ignored the findings of the UDP public enquiry
• not given adequate consideration of the impact of
development in this location
• prejudiced a proper countywide strategic assessment of
the location of future housing
• proceeded with construction of the Rotherwas Access Road
without sufficient funding in place and will therefore be
unable to properly and impartially consider a planning
application on the site because it has a direct financial
interest in granting approval
The Dinedor Hill Action Association has given careful
consideration, and taken detailed legal advice, before
proceeding with this action. The Grounds for legal
challenge selected by DHAA barrister is that the Council
have not proved need for extra housing and, if such need
were proved, have not given grounds for selecting
Bullinghope over all the other proposed UDP housing sites
that were rejected.
Speaking today, the Chair of the Dinedor Hill Action
Association David Millar said: "It is with regret that we
feel it necessary to take this very serious action.
However, we believe that proper democratic processes have
been overridden by the Council, and that a legal challenge
to the UDP is the only avenue remaining to ensure proper
consideration of this allocation of housing.”
READ THE BACKGROUND TO THIS
ACTION
READ ABOUT THE CONCERNS OF
DINEDOR HILL ASSOCIATION THAT HAVE LED TO THIS
ACTION
Save Dinedor & Bullinghope
Stop the Council putting housing in the wrong place just to fund a road we don't need
WE NEED YOUR HELP
We urgently need your financial help to support the legal action against the inappropriate Bullinghope housing being used to fund the Rotherwas cul-de-sac. Please send cheques to David Miller, Highfields, Bullinghope HR2 8TB, made out to Dinedor Hill Action Association Limited.
Dinedor Hill Action Association Limited is taking Herefordshire Council to the High Court for not following proper processes in it's desperation to fund a road which is not needed.
Visit our sister campaign's website:
The campaign against the Rotherwas road and proposed housing at Bullinghope is supported by a coalition of individuals and organisations. These include Herefordshire CPRE, the Save Bullinghope Campaign, Herefordshire Green Party (including Cllr. Gerald Dawe, elected on May 3rd for the Hollington Ward which includes the road) and Lib Dem Tupsley Councillor Councillor Marcelle Lloyd-Hayes, 624th Mayor of Hereford (2005-6)
The Rotherwas Road is now being built by the Conservative administration with support from Labour, most Independents and Liberal Democrat Councillors except Cllr. LLoyd-Hayes. This is against the advice of Government experts, Planning Inspectors, and the Council's own consultants.
The Labour group oppose the housing but not the road it is to fund.
ON THE ROAD...
"The Rotherwas Cul-de-Sac is a breathtakingly risky gamble with the financial and economic future of Herefordshire citizens. It will be funded through loans that stitch up the Council for years to come, through developer contributions which may never materialise, and through the Council's existing finances. We are appalled that such financial recklessless is going unchallenged by a weak Lib Dem opposition to a foolish Tory-led Council."- Cllr. Gerald Dawe, Hollington Ward, Herefordshire Green Party