My challenge to the planning permission for a Premier Inn hotel in St Peter’s Street, Colchester, approved on 27th September 2012 by Colchester Borough Council’s Planning Committee, comes up for hearing this week. It previously came before the Administrative Court on 25th July 2013.

Whitbread’s planning application was supported by a planning statement which stated that no site with preferential status under the sequential test (see below) was viable, suitable and available. Many local people objected to the planning application, but the Planning Committee was advised to approve it.

I argue that the Planning Committee failed to apply the Council’s own policy set out in the local planning development framework. The policy included a sequential test on which sites in the town centre, especially sites in the St Botolphs regeneration area, are preferable to edge of centre sites, like St Peter’s Street, or out of centre sites.

On my case, the sequential test applies, but the Planning Committee did not consider it because they were misinformed by Whitbread’s planning statement. They should have considered a site in Queen Street, in the town centre and in the St Botolphs regeneration area. The planning statement stated that it was “unavailable”.

I rely on evidence that the Council, which owns the Queen Street site, had approached Whitbread about developing a hotel on the Queen Street site on 23rd May 2012, not long before Whitbread launched their planning application. Whitbread rebuffed the approach, saying that they were well advanced on their preferred site – i.e. the edge of centre site in St Peter’s Street.

There is also a sequential test on which sites at low risk of flooding, like the Queen Street site, are preferable to sites with a medium risk of flooding, like the St Peter’s Street site. I rely on that as an additional ground for challenge.

I obtained my evidence by Freedom of Information request. The exchange of emails evidencing that the other site was offered to Whitbread and rejected only a few weeks before they made their planning application is here: Email 23.05.12 FOI

The FOI response which confirms that the Queen Street site was not under contract to any other party is here: FOI response

Both sites are in Castle Ward, which I represent.

Whitbread has upwards of 600 Premier Inn hotels up and down the country.

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