Meols Drive apartments controversy: comments about planning receive panning

A row we reported yesterday has continued after the council's planning chief blasted a Conservative councillor for comments he claimed were 'just not true.'

A proposed development on Meols Drive was recently approved that would see the demolition of existing buildings and a single block of 10 apartments built. 

Despite a petition opposed to the application and all three local councillors against approval, it was voted through 9-2 with support from all parties.

The decision led to strong complaints from the area's Conservative councillors, who labelled it a 'travesty of natural common sense.'

Site of proposed development at 100-102 Meols Drive, West Kirby

Cllr Andrew Gardner later told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "I didn't feel it was a good decision and I didn't think the officers were robust enough given it was in a conservation area.

"With that application – the view from the golf course was not properly considered. Often the rear doesn't matter but it matters on Meols Drive. If you haven't been to it, how can you write the report?"

Stuart Kelly

Now the chair of Wirral Council's Planning Committee has hit back at the comments. Lib Dem councillor Stuart Kelly said: "Cllr Gardner is under a misunderstanding on how reports to the planning committee are produced, they aren't written by just one individual but have input from a number of planning officers including the case officer, conservation officer and senior planning team leader."

"Cllr Gardner claims that no one viewed the site from the golf course, this is just not true, the council's planning conservation officer did view the site from the golf course.

"The committee considered all of the points made by objectors and ward councillors and on balance felt that the development should go ahead. 9 members of the committee agreed, including one from Cllr Gardner's own political group."

He added: "All the issues raised by objectors were carefully considered and debated at committee before reaching a decision. In the absence of any objection from Historic England to the loss of the conservatory this would not have been grounds to refuse the application."

"The role of the planning committee is to balance all the various points of view, to decide whether any actual harm results when balanced against the benefits and to make an informed decision, we did that in this case."

Cllr Gardner said the recent decision to approve the application was why he, and fellow councillors Tony Cox and Alison Wright, had requested a meeting with the top official at Wirral Council.

Cllr Gardner told the LDRs: "What we have asked for involves a number of issues locally in our area to the extent we want to meet the Chief Exec to relay our concerns."

A Council spokesperson said: "The decision to approve this application was taken following full consideration of the issues by the members of the Planning Committee, which includes Cllr Gardner.

"They considered the report of planning officers and heard representations from residents who objected to the application, one of the Ward Councillors and the applicant before debating the issues as a committee.

"A motion to approve the application – subject to a Section 106 agreement and a number of planning conditions – was carried on a vote of 9 to 2."

How the development might look