Activist slams ‘perverted’ city planning

A Green party activist has accused the Capital’s planning system of being “perverted” after councillors agreed to grant consent for the development of a new supermarket in the Chesser area.

Members of the development management sub-committee agreed to allow a Morrison’s supermarket at a site on Hutchison Road that is opposite an existing Asda despite planning officials recommending the proposal was rejected.

The decision angered local activist and Green party member Gavin Corbett. He said: “The new plan is for a mixed use site, with some homes alongside a Morrisons supermarket. Councillors, it seems were swayed by the argument that only a supermarket could make the site as a whole viable.

“But it beggars belief that a housing-only site could not be successful. It is yet another sign of how perverted our planning and development model has become.”