The news that the Govt has given the go-ahead for plannning consent to be granted after a short impasse is intriguing. The original intervention from the government suggested that issues raised by Derwent Holdings and their legal team were being taken seriously. Derwent are the owners of the White City retail park. They have had their own proposals for a supermarket at White City turned down by Trafford’s planners using arguments that from a lay perspective would seem to apply equally to the Tescos.
This latest news that the Govt is happy for the Tesco to go ahead suggests that either the Govt is confident that the Tesco consent is robust; or Derwent have backed down. Derwent are yet to comment and it will be interesting to hear their view.
In the meantime planning consent has now been rubber stamped and the dominoes are beginning to rock. We are just a short few weeks away from the promised announcement on the Stretford Academy. Given that the land required to build the Tesco is currently in possession of the soon to be closed (according to plan) Stretford High School, are we moving to resolution on that issue? If the Academy is cancelled, how does the council get its hands are the necessary school field? The School Adjudicator is looking at this issue next week. Could the school adjudicator yet scupper the whole plan? If they reversed the decision to close the school, it would certainly complicate things but is this likely? The Council gives the impression in the article that its confident this is close to being resolved. I hope we’re not going to have a sham consultation on the school closure.
Mike Cordingley
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