The Politics of Planning

Today in a space that would normally have sports activity taking place.

The Planning commitee of Eden council held its first physical meeting since the powers for council to hold virtual meetings dur to covid19 ended on the 7th of May.

The meeting had planning 4 items for debate the first of the items was the most controversial that of what has become an issue of local concern and objection to the project that is Voreda House.

Voreda House is the proposed new headquarters of Eden council that has due to a number of factors turned into a white elephant project and a vanity project it would appear of the leadership of the council.

The proposal to convert the former tax office in Penrith into a new HQ for the council started in 2019 under the new leadership when the building came on the market and the council moved and purchase it for a not so small price.

The building is a concrete building of the 70's 80's era that has weathered and is now a building that is just there, and some may say is representative of the period in an artistic way.

Personally, I think should be levelled and made into a green space to link with the coronation gardens next to it.

Now the council have pushed forward with plans to make the building into a retrofit Passive house office.

The original cladding was well ghastly does not come close however new mire local sandstone cladding is now proposed.

The original cladding was one of the reasons the original planning was refused a few months ago.

Now taking aside the building the story of the voreda house planning application has now a number of twists and turns that range from the council no longer existing to the political actions to ensure the new planning application was approved today.

Eden council like the other councils in Cumbria is currently in the throes of local government reorganisation with government due in the next couple of months to make the final decision having conducted consultations into he proposals for the new unitary council for Cumbria including a proposal by Eden council itself on this.

The new unitary would see Eden Council consigned to the history books and a new bigger council formed that may not have its HQ in Penrith.

Alongside this Eden council currently run buy a rainbow collation including originally the independent group of councillors.

The leader of which is the council deputy leader some of the group did not agree with the way things were going and this resulted in 5 of the independents including the deputy leader forming a new Independent alliance to swing the balance of power in the planning commitee so the planning could be passed today.

The political power play was further confirmed when the deputy leader made a statement in the press that you dont vote against your own alliance showing predetermination and failure to follow the seven principles of public life all councillors conduct their duties by.

Now at today’s planning meeting the power play took a further turn when one of the alliance memebrs on the commitee could not attend and his replacement was another alliance member and a member of the council executive that not only was putting forward the planning as the executive of the council but also she failed to make a declaration to the effect at the meeting and voted on the planning application.

During the meeting, a proposal was made to refuse the application the vote was 6 against 5 for the motion.

The motion due to the vote that was a political makeup of the commitee split was unsuccessful and a motion was put forward to approve the application that was said was to support the council zero carbon policy and develop an efficient HQ.

the motion passed 6 for 5 against.

What was not highlighted is the application will see trees felled around the building and the council will still own the current building and the council new HQ has now a meeting space but not one that can accommodate a full council public meeting so other spaces will be required to hold these that will mean the council zero carbon claims with the new building are not correct unfortunately.

Now had Eden council not currently been facing the axe and the expensive unachievable Passivhaus label path to grab headlines and not be achievable not been taken instead a more realistic retrofit that achieved the same goals I would probably have supported the plans fully but given the current post covid19 climate we are all in and the fact the council will likely not exist by 2023.

It is highly irresponsible of Eden Council to be spending millions of Public money on a new HQ it may never occupy at a time they are consulting staff on redundancies and like the rest of the UK the district is fighting to recover from the economic and social impact of covid19.

The Voreda House vanity project may well end up been the white elephant legacy of the last administration of the council that will see it remembered for its failings.