Lewes Road Community Garden - the facts from your local councillors

Ian Davey

Fighting hard for local people all year round not just at election times

St Peters & North Laine Green councillors

Councillors Ian Davey and Pete West

Pete West

Many residents have understandably been concerned about the redevelopment of the Community Garden on the site of the former ESSO filling station in Lewes Road as a shop, betting office and flats.

We welcome the opportunity to explain the facts of how this has come about.

It is to our great dismay that the site of the much loved and valued Community Garden may now be developed, and that Tesco are interested in opening a store there.

It goes without saying that we are very unhappy about this bleak turn of events, and we know this view is shared by many others in the local community.

In 2008 a planning application was submitted for the site and councillors were made aware of this through the Council's weekly published list of new planning applications.

Immediate neighbours of the site were consulted by the Council as a part of the planning process.

Although no objections were made by neighbours to the application, nor were any issues raised by them with ward councillors, the Triangle Community did lodge an objection.

Planning officers then indicated that they would refuse the planning application on grounds of scale and air quality, under their delegated powers.

However, unbeknown to ourselves, neighbours or the Triangle Community, the developers then began negotiating with planning officers and in early 2009 an amended application including ventilation was reconsulted upon with neighbours.

No objections were again made by neighbours or flagged up with councillors.

Unfortunately ward councillors and the Triangle Community were not made aware of the reconsultation.

Planning officers then granted the amended application under their delegated powers.

It is important to stress that as this was an amended and not a new application ward councillors were not notified about the negotiations or further consultations.

Although it is preferable planners inform local councillors and previous objectors in these circumstances it isn't unusual that they did not.

Without planners or local residents flagging up the reconsultation with us, it would only have been by pure chance that we would have found out, which we did not.

The site was then occupied by the Guerrilla Gardeners and we became very much involved in supporting the garden.

Former councillor Keith Taylor MEP, as you may know, negotiated a leave of stay for the garden when the owners locked the gates.

We only became aware that the amended application had been granted when the gardeners found out after the garden had opened.

Also it needs to be understood that Tesco's interest in the store has only become known about after the planning application was approved, and that they are not the developers.

We have attended many meetings and the great events since the garden opened and been in frequent contact with Duncan Blinkhorn and Cathy Marchand and others in the community to lend our support and advice.

We also attended the recent meetings at which the future of the garden was discussed and the court case on Monday 21 June.

We have also launched a boycott pledge to help bring pressure upon Tesco not to open a store as it will be proved a failure.

We appreciate and share the community's great disappointment, and in hindsight a lot of people in the community as well as councillors would wish they had known about what was going on with the planning application and the implications it would have for the future garden.

The fact though is no one did, cannot reasonably have been expected to have known, and can't be blamed for what has so unfortunately happened.

Questions have recently been asked about the validity of the planning process in regard to the level of consultation that took place on the application. Caroline Lucas MP has written to the Council and received a response which has been looked at legally.

Caroline has also written to Eric Pickles, Communities Secretary, about the impact of Tesco on local independent stores.

Ward councillors have also been quoted in the press similarly.

The garden has now been vacated to protect the interest of Duncan Blinkhorn, in particular, as the owner would have been awarded hefty costs by the court against him if vacant possession wasn't offered by Monday 28 June.

However this isn't the end, the community has also discussed other options including buying the site.

It may seem a long shot, but we have been approached by Tesco who are growing concerned by the amount of adverse publicity and angry letters they are receiving from members of the community about the development.

Tesco were at pains to point out that they are not the developer, but are looking to rent the shop unit.

We offered them some helpful advice about the strength of feelings being expressed by the local community, the special circumstances of the garden and how highly motivated and well organised they will likely find people in their opposition both to the development and to a Tesco store.

We hope they will think about the price they are prepared to pay in terms of adverse publicity, which could become nationally focussed, if they remain involved.

Our hope is that in response to the pledge by local people to boycott the store, Tesco will decide to back off, and that other chains will then likewise not wish to become involved.

If so, the developer may then also be persuaded to offer the community to buy the site at reduced cost.

Caroline Lucas MP and ourselves are now urgently seeking a meeting with Tesco to restate the case for them to discontinue there interest in the site.

We hope this explanation helps clarify how we got to this point.

If you have any further questions please do let us know.

And, please support the boycott and keep writing to tell Tesco Chief Executive, Terry Leahy terry.leahy@uk.tesco.com

and the site owners Alburn Minos that the community doesn't want this development or a Tesco, all we want is our garden back!

Cllrs Pete West & Ian Davey (Green Party)

St Peter's & North Laine Ward Brighton & Hove City Council

Sign the pledge to boycott Lewes Road Tesco: http://bit.ly/lewesroadinfo

Published June 2010

*SIGN UP HERE* to pledge to boycott another Tesco's

Contact Ian