On a more sombre note, the Planning Inspector decided to ‘allow’ Justin Claybourne’s appeal against the refusal of his planning application on the ‘eastern- annexe’ of the Henry Jenkins. This means that he has now been given permission to develop that part of the site for residential use.
This is an unexpected turn of events, as we felt that a very strong case was presented by the HJCP which also seemed to have the support of the HBC Planning Officer who was in attendance. This decision is rendered even more inexplicable by contradictory statements by the Inspector within her report but there is no appeal and we must accept her conclusions and move on. A copy of her decision will be uploaded to this website.
Obviously, this is a severe blow to all of our aspirations to preserve a long-valued, atmospheric and traditional social centre within our community. David Fielder has reaffirmed that the ‘western’ section of the Henry Jenkins is still available for sale as a community asset and it appears that the Inspector regarded this a sufficient safeguard for Parish facilities. Of course, this remains an open question.
A meeting of the Management Team has been arranged. Shortly after this, full facts and all details will be provided in the January eNewsletter, so our membership can decide on the future direction of our campaign. This must be done by the end of January. Time stands still for no man, even if we are in a lockdown!
Please feel free to contact HJCPLtd@gmail.com directly, with any specific questions about the current situation.