Consultation

The so called public consultation process as practised by Centros and our council is little more than a bad joke, and the way that consultation results were used by Centros in 2007, represented the positive aspects of their development while brushing the unpleasant realities under the carpet. In their April 2007 Public Consultation on the Development Proposals , letters from the public that they included, gave the impression that supporters of their development were rational and informed, whilst those against it were ill-educated and incoherent yokels. The reasoned views that were presented to Centros by It's Our City and others were barely represented at all.

In the public inquiry, consultation was not considered by the planning inspector, demonstrating that despite the law, consultation is effectively a box ticking exercise that allows Centros and similar developers to use it as another weapon in their spin doctor's armoury.

Articles

Events

30 May 2007	BBC Radio Interview May 2007	Participants were Emily Secker from It's Our City and Ian Barker, leader of Lancaster Council.
10 June 2007	It's Our City Fundraiser	Looking for Bohemia fundraising event at the Yorkshire House.

Letters & Emails

27 February 2006	Letter from Ian Barker to Centros PR Man	A 'quasi-judicial' letter of support from council leader Ian Barker to Steve Bryson of Halogen, Centros Miller's PR Company. Echoes of BSkyB !
24 July 2006	Letter from Ian Barker to Residents	A letter from leader of the council Ian Barker to Lancaster residents in response to objections.
25 July 2006	Letter from Cllr Jon Barry to Mark Cullinan - Council CEO	Complaint from Cllr Barry to Council CEO regarding councillors being kept in the dark.
27 July 2006	Email from Steve Bryson	Mr. Bryson justifies the late publication of consultation results.
8 August 2006	Letter from Council Regeneration Director to Cllr Jon Barry	Reply to Cllr Jon Barry's letter of 25 Jul 2006.
16 August 2006	Letter from Cllr Jon Barry to Council Regeneration Director	Reply to Council Regeneration Director's letter of 8th Aug 2006.
30 May 2007	Council Head of Planning Sucks up to Centros	Letter of comfort sent by head of planning, Andrew Dobson, to Centros.
26 September 2007	Letter to Party Leaders

Miscellaneous

11 April 2006	Centros Miller 'Champions'	An interview with John Laker the managing director of Centros Miller.
1 August 2006	Centros Spin on Residents Survey	Commentary on a 27 July 06 email about the residents survey, sent to It's Our City, council officers and media outlets by Centros 'Sultan of Spin' Steve Bryson.
20 October 2006	Council Leader Ian Barker speaks	Council Leader Ian Barker Replies to Questions from Lancaster residents.

Press Releases

26 July 2006

Green Party Press Release July 2006

This followed the cabinet committee vote to sign the planning delivery agreement with Centros.

Reports

30 January 2006	City Centre and Residents Survey	January 2006 - How responses from residents next to the development site were excluded from the residents survey and the survey was completey ignored at the Council Cabinet meeting which approved the development agreement.
14 May 2007	Secret Planning Delivery Agreement	Local councillor denied sight of Centros planning agreement by council officer.

Consultation Links

Real Planning for Lancaster 2003 Survey - In 2003 a local group called 'Real Planning for Lancaster' carried out a public consultation on what local people would like to see done with the Canal Corridor site. The results showed strong opposition to large retail development and increased traffic congestion. Their well presented 10 page report is comprehensive compared to the superficial Centros Surveys of Jan 2006. The Council cabinet completely ignored the residents survey carried out by Centros in January 2006 which didn't fit in with their plans to force the development through whatever the public wants.
Planning Delivery Agreements Report - This report by ATLAS (Advisory Team for Large Applications), concerns the Fast Track Planning system introduced by the government to make it easier for developers to get their plans through. It requires a developer to engage in public consultation but as we have seen, Centros pays lip service to this requirement as a box ticking exercise.
In praise of ... Uttlesford district council - In their 30th Nov 06 article, the Guardian reports how Uttlesford District Council voted against further expansion of Stansted Airport. Here is a council who actually listens to the residents of their district, and takes note of their concerns. Here is a council actually concerned and doing something about global warming. Uttlesford, we salute you.
Public Debate - Virtual Lancaster report on the Gregson Community Centre panel debate organised by It's Our City to debate the issues with the leaders of each local party. Meeting was chaired by Alan Whitaker, Pro Vice Chancellor of Lancaster University.
The Town and Country Planning Act 1990 - Section 106 - Section 106 allows councils to insist on such things as car free housing and more community facilities in new developments. IOC's efforts to get the council to take advantage of this to get a better deal from Centros fell on deaf ears.