“ANYONE concerned about the loss of local control over planning issues were given a graphic illustration at Wednesday night’s Redditch Borough Council planning meeting.
Councillors broadly agreed the proposed new Lidl store in Battens Drive was in the wrong location, but could they stop it? Not without the risk of losing a costly planning appeal.
Instead they were reduced to exercising their authority on another agenda item on some tree preservation orders in Feckenham.
Worse is to come too, in Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick’s White Paper on planning reforms, where it’s likely local voices will not even be taken into account.“
Ross Crawford, editor of the Redditch Standard.
(27/11/2020).
