A HOUSING developer has been blasted for resubmitting an application which was thrown out by a planning inspector just six months ago.
Councillor Joe Baker said he was suffering from a ‘serious case of deja vu’ and was ‘furious’ to see the plans for 12 homes off Wirehill Drive in front of councillors once again.
In 2008 an outline application for a residential development was approved on the land but building work failed to take place and the application lapsed.
A proposal for 12 houses was then put before councillors last year and was recommended for approval by Redditch Borough Council officers.
But the planning committee rejected the plans because the site was a designated area of Primarily Open Space, and the need for housing did not outweigh the need for the space.
Many councillors also raised concerns over road safety and the traffic implications of building two new access roads onto Wirehill Drive.
The applicant, David Baker, unsuccessfully tried to appeal against the decision in April this year, where it was rejected by a planning inspector because the site was a valuable environmental and recreational space.
But the exact same application was put in front of councillors once again at a planning meeting on Wednesday (November 12).
Coun Baker said: “I’m really furious about this application. It feels to me like I’m suffering from a severe case of deja vu here, nothing has changed.
“I’m furious that not only has valuable time of officers and councillors been wasted here, but also the immense stress that residents have suffered.
“I’m annoyed I’m wasting my time here going through this.”
He added he would refuse the application for the same reasons councillors did in 2013.
Coun Yvonne Smith seconded the motion while Coun David Thain said it was ‘a back door application.’
Councillors voted to refuse the application because of road safety fears and to protect the green space for residents.
