A public row has broken out over the meeting of Uttlesford’s planning committee scheduled for the Wednesday of the August Bank Holiday week. Several councillors and many residents of Stansted will be on holiday on August 28th when the committee is now expected to decide on three controversial applications for development in Stansted.

The Dunmow and Stansted Observer published a story this afternoon about a complaint by Save Stansted Village. SSV’s concern is the Walpole Farm application for about 140 homes on the northern edge of Stansted.

Totally independently this morning, Cllr Iris Evans and I wrote a letter of complaint about the Bank Holiday committee slot for the Walpole Farm controversial application and two other controversial applications on Cambridge Road. The latter are at the former London & Stansted Furnishing site and next door at the Geneva Motors site. We were told they would be on the agenda for this Wednesday’s (31st July) planning committee, but they were pulled at the eleventh hour for reasons not explained.

The L&SF site has yet another proposal for a 14-home enclave. Two proposals on this site were refused by the committee last year despite officer recommendations for approval. This is opposed by Stansted’s councillors and the parish council because it will undermine the commercial town centre. The application next door for a tyre repair works is supported by local representatives as it will bring work and services to the centre of the village.

As these issues are now in web headlines, we are publishing (with a few redactions) our letter to the council’s chief executive and director in advance of his reply, which is expected this week.

[See the next post on 5 August for follow up correspondence.]