Springfield Hospital update |
Posted on Apr 22 2010 |
Mark Clarke and Conservative Shadow Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, discuss the Springfield development with Giles Sequeira of the Springfield Hospital Residents Association
Many local residents are rightly worried about what the next steps for the Springfield Hospital site will be. So Mark brought Grant Shapps, who is the Conservative Shadow Housing Minister to Tooting to meet with the Springfield Hospital Residents Association. Mark Clarke and Giles Sequeira from the local Residents Association explained to Grant Shapps how the development was only stopped through an unprecedented alliance of all political parties, local residents and Wandsworth Council.
Grant Shapps explained how the Conservatives would make a series of changes to give local communities more power over developments. The biggest change that could help local people with the Springfield developments would be over the planning appeals process. At the moment developers can appeal to the Government’s planning inspector to overrule the decisions of a local council. This was a real fear with the Springfield development. However, the Conservatives will change the law so that you can only appeal a planning application if there is a process problem with application. This will stop developers being able to get the planning inspector to overrule any Council objection. That means that any new scheme will need to be completed tailored to the needs of local people because only the local Council will have the decision power over the development. This will put local people and the local council completely in the driving seat with any fresh development.
Grant Shapps also told us how communities would get more money from the government for allowing new developments in their areas. That money could be spent on getting improvements to local services. Whether our area will benefit from this though depends on whether a Conservative Government could get the legislation passed before Springfield Hospital submit a revised planning application.
You can be sure that a Conservative Council and Mark Clarke will not let the Springfield site be overdeveloped. These proposals will only strengthen the hand of local people.
Last changed: Apr 22 2010 at 6:40 PM
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