'No regrets' as council defends backing Centros
TOWN hall planning chief Andrew Dobson says he has no regrets that the city council chose to defend the Centros scheme – despite its withdrawal from the public inquiry last week.
Mr Dobson said the council needed to know whether the site was considered acceptable for a retail-led development before earmarking a use for the land as part of a new planning blueprint – the Local Development Framework (LDF).
He said that had the council decided against testing the suitability of the site by defending the Centros scheme, it would almost certainly have had to shell out to defend its development at an LDF public inquiry.
"If the Secretary of State says 'you can't have any further growth' then fine, at lease we have got that certainty," said Mr Dobson.
"The worst outcome for me would be if Centros withdraws its plans because then we will not have that determination from the Secretary of State.
"With regards to the costs of the council appearing, we have understandably taken a lot of stick from local people because they do not understand these finer points.
"We always wondered whether at the last minute Centros would do the decent thing and appear but they have not and we are now applying for costs."
Mr Dobson added that council conservation officer Stephen Gardner, who identified issues with the scheme, 'was always going to be put in a difficult position' by English Heritage's change in stance.
"We did not have the authority to agree to any changes without the applicant being there," he said.
Council leader, Coun Stuart Langhorn, stressed that the council remained committed to the development of the canal corridor.
"The site itself is rundown and decaying with many derelict buildings," he said.
"Without its regeneration we run the risk of falling behind other towns and cities in the North West.
"However, the public inquiry has raised a number of questions which need to be answered."
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Weather for Lancaster
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -1 C to 2 C
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