Many of you may already be aware, that in the last couple of weeks, Sky Properties have made an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. It amounts to an attempt to overturn the “unanimous” refusal of their application to build a waste processing and incineration facility by Salford City Council in June.
The History
It’s been almost two years since Sky started their campaign to try to dupe the community into believing that their waste site was going to be great for the area and the local residents. In that time, they have continued to forcefully exclude any thoughts, opinions, decisions and facts presented by local residents, businesses and now the Council.
Going In The Right Direction
We are happy to report that there have been many positive developments since the refusal. As the Bridgewater Masterplan gathers momentum we have seen a similar appeal from Anthony O’Connor (Sky’s next door neighbour) quashed, indicating that the Planning Inspectorate is aware of the issues in the area. In addition, Sky’s attempt to have the site re-included in the regional waste strategy has failed. The reasons for removing the site from the GMWDA joint development plan, have been debated at a hearing and subsequently upheld by the Inspector. The site will NOT be re-included to the regional waste plan.
What’s Going To Happen Now
Regardless of the positive developments, this fight is about to get tougher than we’ve seen so far. Our worst enemy will be complacency. Now is the time that we need to start gathering our resources and throwing our full weight behind the Council as they defend their decision to refuse. In the coming months, we will be working alongside the Council to help ensure that common sense prevails and that the Council’s decision is upheld.
What Do We Need To Do
We will be registering as an interested party for the appeal. This will give us the opportunity to present our information in full, so it may be assessed and used in the Inspector’s decision. Two years is a long time and situations may have changed. Individuals and businesses may have left the area, whereas others may have move in. In some cases, we may have different community representatives and Councillors.
In the first instance we need to do the following:
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* Contact friends, family and colleagues – Notify anyone who has, is or will be affected by the outcome of the appeal.. that the appeal has arrived.
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* Contact your Councillors – Regardless of the Council rejecting the application, you need to ensure that your local Councillor is aware that the appeal has arrived, and also that you still feel strongly about the negative impact this will have on the area. Do this by email, letter or phone. You can find contact details here:
http://www.salford.gov.uk/findyourcouncillors.htm
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* Keep watching for updates – We will be working with the Council to agree dates and the location for the appeal proceedings. When we have these confirmed, we will need all hands to the pumps. Leafleting, postering and attendance at the hearing will be our top priorities.
We knew this was coming, now we have to ramp it up a notch. Stick with us and thank you for your continued support.