Just sent this to my MP:
Dear Andrew,
I wrote to you last month regarding the case of a Gurkha, Cpl. Rai who had been injured in the Falkland Islands and was attempting to enter the UK for medical treatment. You kindly said you would write to the Defence Secretary. I was curious as to whether you got an answer.
Further to this, may I bring to your attention another matter regarding the shameful way that military personnel are treated in this country. A planning application has been submitted by SSAFA to turn a £1.7m six bedroom house into accommodation for use by the relatives of injured service personnel who are undergoing treatment at Headley Court in Surrey.
Mole Valley District Council are dealing with the planning application. However, the number of objections and the reasons behind them from local residents of Ashtead make me ashamed to be British. The provision of this facility should not be veiwed in the narrow context of a District Council or constituency issue, but of national interest and importance for the role it is hoped it will play in providing ease of access to injured loved ones for the families of the service personnel; and the much needed close support that these men and women so rightly deserve.
Could I ask you to make contact with Sir Paul Beresford who represents the area, and appeal to his good nature to support this application on behalf of the service personnel currently in Headley Court and sadly, those who will be in need of its services in the future if this country is to maintain its role of world peacekeeper.
Yours sincerely,
And got this info back from my daughter:
Right, I've had a look at the applicant's statements and a sample of objections. The applicant states that pre-application discussions took place before the proposal was formally submitted as a planning application. The meeting will have hopefully included someone from Policy and someone from Highways along with a Development Control Officer. If this is the case and they have put the application in then that would tend to suggest that the officers thought the proposals were acceptable in principle - otherwise they would have been told that there was no chance of it being approved.
Also, Policy and Highways will have been consulted formally on the application (just like the residents) and their comments are public record so you should be able to either read them online or arrange to go and see the DC case officer. Their comments are the ones that count. Many residents have commented but they have to be "material" objections. For example, I don't think you can argue that the application should be refused as it would 'destroy the character and appearance of the lane' as that's just stupid. I think the key issues in determining the application will therefore be:
- Are the current access arrangements adequate (Highways);
- Will on site parking provision be adequate (Highways); and
- Does the Use accord with the development plan (Policy).
I would therefore recommend you see what the in-house comments are and discuss it with the DC case officer.
If there are material objections the DC officer will have them on file.
I will be contacting the Case Officer forthwith.