Episode 6 The Planners

Britain is a green and pleasant land.

But for how long?

We're now getting to a situation

where any site's worth putting a planning application in for.

After the biggest shake-up of the planning system in 40 years,

the race is on to get Britain building.

If I have a house here...

I'm thinking of building a sort of Berlin wall -

it's got to be at least six feet high.

So constructors are making plans.

Whoever designed that needs to be shot.

Objectors are making noises.

I've had a-bloody-nough of it,

with what we've got in this

-town for councillors, and the

-BLEEP

-they're putting up.

And neighbours are going to war.

We always won our battles, as a family. We'll win this one.

In the firing line, shaping the country of the future,

are Britain's planners.

So nothing happens in the hall, yeah? Yes? No? Yes?

Well, thanks for letting us visit. And we'll see you on Thursday.

Another British planning cock-up, really.

Across the country, planning laws are being relaxed

to encourage development and kick-start the economy.

That means land that was always considered protected

is now being targeted by developers -

green fields on the edge of towns and villages.

In West Cheshire, the council has a target of 5,000 new homes

over the next five years.

Fiona Edwards runs the planning department.

I can honestly say

that I get up every morning looking forward to coming to work.

Perhaps I'm just sad, I don't know.

Fiona is on her way to Tarporley,

one of the most affluent villages in Cheshire,

where homes sell for millions.

It's a short commute to Chester and Liverpool,

has its own secondary school and

a high street full of independent shops.

Tarporley love really good chocolates.

And perhaps the most popular is the rum truffle - absolute classic -

followed by the champagne and the Cointreau.

And what could be more British than good vanilla fudge?

With so much going for it, Tarporley is a property developer's dream.

Land to develop was always hard to find,

but since the planning laws

governing development on the edges of communities were relaxed,

Tarpoley's green fields are up for grabs.

This is the site for the proposal for up to 100 homes

on this greenfield site.

It's fairly classic rolling Cheshire countryside

and a lot of people would argue

that its loss would be an absolute crying shame and a

death knell for the countryside.

This application from a large local building company for 100 new homes

would be the biggest development seen in Tarporley for over 40 years.

With the need to build homes greater than ever,

Fiona is recommending the proposals go ahead.

Being a planner, I would say this is a logical expansion to the village.

Although this is technically, actually, open countryside,

we've seen how close it is to the built-up area of Tarporley,

how easy it is to access all the services, so it's sustainable.

But it's quite interesting - if we look over to the right there,

you can see a fairly modern housing development,

and that will have been equally been built on what was formerly

a piece of green field, agricultural land.

I know we have to have progress but...

Does it have to be there? For me.

It was the view over the field

that first attracted Norma and her husband Frank 20 years ago.

Now that field could become a housing estate.

It's a shame, isn't it?

I'm going to look into somebody's back garden

and look at their washing.

It's such a shame.

But unfortunately for the neighbours,

the view from a house is not protected by planning law.

The officer recommendation will not change.

We will recommend approval.

It is a bit shocking, but we know.

We have to make difficult decisions.

Norma and Frank have joined their neighbours

and are fighting to stop Fiona's

recommendation to allow the new estate.

I always make pots of tea - even for one person.

News of Fiona's support for the application

means she's become the focus of the residents' anger.

Her job is a very important job,

and I don't think she quite understands

the impact of her decisions.

Or maybe she does and she just doesn't care.

I think she could look at the bigger picture and listen to the community.

It isn't nimbyism.

It's about keeping Tarporley as it is.

-FIONA:

-Your home, your front door,

is probably the most important thing to you, and if that's threatened,

people get very, very emotionally bound up in the whole process.

If our aspiration is to become home-owners,

we need to provide affordable properties

and the proposal here has a percentage of affordable housing.

Would you like to live here?

Tarporley? Um...

Yes, I would.

Um... I actually don't think I could afford

to live here as things stands at the moment.

In 90% of all cases, the planners

would make the decision on the application.

But when a plan attracts so much objection in the local community,

it goes before the elected members of the planning committee.

Norma and Frank's neighbour Michael George

works as a project manager for a bank,

and he's preparing the objectors' case.

This piece here is the proposal for the 100 houses.

If this gets approved, it sets a precedent

for any greenfield open countryside

around the village to get approval.

So, it won't be long before developers think -

"Great, Tarporley is a free-for-all.

"We can now go for all these fields around the village."

If that was to happen, the size of Tarporley would treble.

Michael and the objectors have

just four days to prepare their arguments

before the planning-committee meeting.

The need for new housing isn't

the only threat to Britain's green fields.

Right, where am I going to put it?

In Chester, planner Nial Casselden is dealing with an application

that threatens 20 acres on the edge of the city's suburbs.

We're going to put a site notice here

so that people walking past are made aware of the fact

that there is a planning application.

We've just got to find the right spot to put it.

Like all major applications, this one starts with a site notice

being fixed to let the neighbours know what's proposed.

The first secret is to always put the plastic wallet upside down,

so that water doesn't get in.

That's always my top tip.

The applicant is one of the UK's

most successful tourist attractions - Chester Zoo.

Home to 8,000 animals and attracting

a million and a half visitors every year.

You can see the tiger swimming on the right side and the tapir

swimming on the left side.

The zoo has hired an international team of architects

for its largest building project in 81 years -

bringing a taste of Indonesia to Cheshire's rolling fields.

A boat ride will take visitors on a tour -

watching animals like orang-utans.

The idea behind it all is an absolutely immersive environment

which takes you from Cheshire into the South Asian islands effectively.

What we want to do is take people on a two to three hour expedition

across all of these islands

and try and educate people

about why all these species are becoming endangered

but, at the same time, create a fantastic day out.

The Islands project will cost 30 million

and take a year and a half to build on land already owned by the zoo.

Nial starts with a visit to the site.

I've traditionally always liked the penguins.

They've always been my favourite.

There're just quite chilled animals. Literally!

Essentially, from where the ha-ha is,

that's really the start of the work going right down to the A41.

The zoo originally wanted to build

a massive biodome similar to the Eden Project,

got planning permission, but lost millions in government funding,

so the plans had to be scaled back.

The biggest hurdle was probably getting the initial approval

which was back in 2010,

because that was a 13-hectare expansion into the green belt,

with a 38-metre high biodome.

So that was difficult to get, so from the planning perspective,

I think we've done all we can,

and it's in the hands of Nial and the strategic planning committee,

hopefully, to approve it.

The zoo has a tight schedule.

They need to open in time for the peak season -

between Easter and the end of the school summer holidays.

We want to get something built, so any delay affects that.

I don't want to put any pressure on you, Nial!

No, but I think the council recognise that the zoo is a vitally

important part of the local area's economy.

It employs a lot of people

and brings a lot money into the area and a lot of visitors.

So we want to do what we can to assist,

but at the same time there's an awful lot of factors

that we have to weigh up and take into account

when we reach decisions on these types of applications.

Nial needs to consider the effect

on the roads, the green belt and also, the neighbours.

They wrote hundreds of letters of objection

when the last scheme was passed.

Paul Hobbs is the leader of the residents' association.

The proposals would completely

change the view from all our windows.

It would transform the whole nature of where we live.

They say they want to attract another 150,000 people

for this project and that would create

an awful lot of noise and nuisance.

And, also, the whole aspect here is going to change.

It's going to change from a purely rural aspect,

to a lot of buildings and, basically, a theme-park ride.

This new planning application is

going to expand the zoo in this direction,

so in many ways it's going to bring activity -

and all noise and smells that go with it -

a lot closer to where these people are living.

So, naturally, they are going to

be interested in the kind of impact that's going to have on them.

Over the last ten years, the zoo has had to compete

with other tourist attractions,

spending millions on new building work.

I used to know George Mottershead,

who established the zoo years ago.

George would be turning in his grave

if he knew what was going on with the zoo now.

Most large-scale developments attract opposition,

but it's not always the building that upsets the locals -

sometimes, it's the new neighbours.

In Edinburgh, private developers working with Napier University

want to build a tower block for 234 students.

They're proposing a lot of development

on what is quite a small site.

Andrew Trigger is handling the application,

which is already attracting complaints.

There is quite a number of objections from local neighbours

that we'll have to look at quite carefully.

Obviously, we have to get a balance that's right for new development,

but also protects those that are there at the moment.

The residents of these flats will be right next door

to the seven-storey student block,

which would replace the existing plumbing supplies warehouse.

If that's going to get knocked down, there's going to be a building there

and a building here straight in front of me.

Care worker Christine Heenan has

lived in her council flat for 16 years.

She's one of 60 people who've written in opposing the scheme.

So when I'm going to be looking out the window

all I'm going to see is two big ugly buildings in front of me,

and all the noise of students every day, every night.

It's too small a plot to develop in.

It's just going to be all bunched together.

It's just not on. You just can't do that.

The developers behind the £13 million scheme

have the money in place, but not the planning permission.

They're hoping to profit from the city's growing student population.

-Hi, Craig, how are you?

-Not too bad, thank you.

The scheme involves three different shaped tower blocks

in landscaped grounds.

I think our plans will considerably add to the vitality of the area.

We'll be bringing 230-odd people into the area.

They'd benefit the wider economy in terms of local shops,

the transport systems,

and it's also of some, I feel, some considerable architectural merit.

If you look at what it's replacing, it's effectively a tin shed

on the back of an embankment that is run down,

on the back of a park that is not actively used.

I think there is a case to be made.

All planning applications can be viewed online

before a decision is made.

Christine's not got a computer,

so she's using her local library to size up the plans.

My goodness. Well, that is big.

Oh, they can't do that.

That's just going to overpower our place.

I'd be depressed coming out and seeing that -

opening my window and seeing that in front of me all the time.

And then you've got all the students walking past and... Oh!

..parties and... Oh, my goodness! No.

Just... I couldn't stay there, I couldn't.

If I had to look into buildings like that.

I don't think it will run smoothly.

There have been two previous

applications for student accommodation on this site

which have been withdrawn after a lack of support.

Hopefully, we can persuade them that what we're producing is sustainable

and is an appropriate use for that scheme and will add to the area.

Christine is organising the other

residents in the flats to fight the scheme -

and keep the students out.

-Oh!

-234 units.

-No way!

-That's how many students.

-234?!

-Uh-huh. In that little space.

-What on earth...? A round thing.

-What is this at the top?

-It'll be the penthouse suites for the rich students.

-Mm.

I'm livid. I'm absolutely furious.

I really love this area, I love my flat,

but I can't risk the value of my flat going further down.

There's no way on this earth...!

I would actually sell my flat before these went up.

I know they have to live somewhere,

but certainly not in a residential area like this.

I certainly don't want that on my doorstep.

In Cheshire, an application has

been made for 100 new houses on this field

on the edge of the village of Tarporley.

But on the edge of Chester lives planner Fiona Edwards.

She knows that under planning law, no-one has a right to a view.

This housing estate's been here about 16 years now.

And this was a green field before this was built.

Much to the locals' disgust,

Fiona has recommended approval for the plans in Tarporley.

If you do live in an area like Kelsall, Farndon, Tarporley -

the bigger villages that have got services,

you have to say to yourself,

logically, if you're buying a property,

there's a green field behind me -

at some point in the future,

does that look reasonably logical as an expansion?

But, inevitably, I'll ask that question, because I know.

But as an ordinary member of the public,

it probably wouldn't even cross your mind.

It's this old thing, isn't it? An Englishman's home -

or, in this case, a Welshwoman's home - is her castle.

And God help anybody who does something that interferes with that.

In Tarporley, objectors are trying to find planning reasons

to get the housing estate rejected by the planning committee.

Michael George thinks he's found an

alternative site in the heart of the village

that could be built on instead of the field at the end of his garden.

This is Brook Farm school.

It was a special needs school shut about 10 years ago.

Technically, it's what the council

and developers call a brownfield site.

That is, it's been developed before and it's ripe for development now.

Why would you approve a development on a site in the open countryside -

outside of the village, a huge satellite development,

that's going to be a blot on the landscape

when you've got a site like this which is totally derelict, not used,

providing no benefit to the community.

Bring it back to life, put some houses on it -

a smaller number of houses -

and keep it within the village boundary already.

It's crackers to consider any other alternative.

Just because a brownfield site is available

doesn't necessarily mean it's deliverable.

It's all very well that there's land there,

but we haven't got a planning

application on that site at the moment.

You can only judge an application if it's before you.

It's quite easy to say it might come in,

but we have to judge the applications that are in now.

And make these decisions now.

Fiona has rejected Michael's arguments for an alternative site,

but she can only make a recommendation on the new houses.

The elected members of the planning

committee may see things differently.

At Chester Zoo, they're hoping

to start the biggest expansion in 81 years -

the Islands project, that will cost 30 million

and recreate a Southeast Asian river ride.

The plans are still being considered,

but today the first new resident arrives.

It's an Indonesian Banteng bull, and it's come all the way from France.

He's been in the trailer for 24 hours, virtually.

He's come to a new place, new smells.

Uh...he's nervous, and it's like a fear-aggression.

So he's very touchy at the moment.

Hopefully, in a few more days, he'll calm down and get used to us.

How we work.

They're hoping the bull will breed,

creating a herd when the project opens.

You can't go and get a trolley and

go to the shops and buy a load of Banteng from the supermarket,

so you have to plan it a few

years ahead, bring in two or three, maybe another couple of females,

and then breed up to the group that we need for the Islands.

It takes a couple of years, but we'll get there.

It's very exciting, especially when

you get a nice big lad like that. Very impressive.

But the man in charge of the Islands

project has smaller creatures to worry about.

You might find one, you just never know, do you?

It's always worth moving something.

As part of the planning application,

an environmental survey was carried out,

and great crested newts have been found on the Islands site.

They're a protected species.

That's the sort of place you would find them,

tucked under a log like that during the day and then coming out a night.

It's unlikely that there will necessarily be newts in this field.

Where the newts will be during the winter,

if you look over, is that area of woodland there.

And they'll be in there down amongst the tree roots, hiding away,

hibernating, sleeping through the winter. Next February and March,

they wake up, back into the pond to breed.

It's a £5,000 fine and-or six months

in prison for each newt that you injure or kill,

but that protection extends to its eggs.

So, remember, a female newt will lay up to 300 eggs.

So you're talking potentially

millions of pounds of fines on some sites.

Even on this site, there may be in

the region of a hundred newts on this site.

It's almost impossible to know until you start the trapping-out process.

The zoo needs a licence to

move the newts and create new habitats to ensure their safety.

The two-month delay to construction

means Simon's schedule is under threat.

We've still got a spring 2015 opening date, that's key for us.

The exhibit itself is really

for the summer period, it's not a winter exhibit,

so if it completed and opened in

October it would be no benefit to us.

We've got to try and get it open for March, April time.

So it is a problem for us, but that's what we've got to get round.

Even with the newt licence, the

expansion plans won't necessarily receive planning permission.

I mean, physically it's a huge development in the greenbelt,

there aren't many developments in the greenbelt that are this scale.

I can't think of any since I've

been working for the council that come anywhere close to it.

The knock-on effects of a development of this scale

are really very significant with the

numbers of visitors that are coming in.

They're spending money not only

locally but in and around the town, they might be staying over.

Then you've got the extra employees as well.

It's potentially a very, very important development for Chester.

Nial must make a recommendation to

the planning committee when it votes on the application.

In the meantime, the locals and the

zoo are both lobbying their local councillor.

The zoo is a very big and powerful neighbour to us in Upton.

And we're immensely proud of the zoo and what it's achieving.

We get so many visitors and these

developments that they're putting forward

are liable to attract even more visitors than we currently get.

And, of course, that's the reason for them.

And they're very exciting developments,

but at the same time, you always

have bear in mind how it impinges on your residents.

We were inundated with people. I mean, it's their home.

They've chosen it as it is and that's where they're comfortable.

Often anything new excites... dismay.

Simon and the zoo have already been delayed by the newts.

They can't afford a planning setback

that would delay construction even further.

In Edinburgh, developers want to

build a three tower, seven storey complex for 234 students.

Next door to the site, residents

have objected to the prospect of student neighbours.

But planner Andrew Trigger is

dismissing their concerns and has news for the developers.

I don't think the issues that have been raised are insurmountable.

Fundamentally, we're supportive of student accommodation on that site.

It has been challenging, but we've actually managed

to laugh about it with the planning officers.

Sometimes it can be a challenge dealing with them,

but, as I say, we are where we are

and we're reasonably positive about it.

Residents of the flats next door have asked Christine Heenan

to argue their case when the

application goes before the planning committee.

The neighbours have been asking me to put their concerns across,

because they don't want that amount of buildings in that small area

and they don't want 230 students.

There's not one person that wants the students to be here.

With so many objections, the planning committee members

will decide on the flats and

Christine will be able to address them in the town hall.

First, they need to see the site of the scheme.

One thing, if you've been in local government for as long as I have,

you know that you never, ever satisfy everybody.

That is beyond all of us.

You would have to have the wisdom of Solomon to satisfy everybody,

and sometimes you just have to content yourself

with exercising your judgement and

try as far as possible to do the right thing.

The councillors are all elected, and come from all walks of life,

including a retired electrician, a lecturer and an air hostess.

This is an application for student accommodation.

The proposal's for 234 bed spaces within three blocks.

-We're just going to put the students in there and brick up the front.

-LAUGHTER

-Well, that's a sustainable way of looking at it.

-LAUGHTER

So this is what I want to show you from this side.

The other important angle I'd like to show you is from the park.

I think there's a legitimate concern about the scale of the development.

And there's going to be a full hearing,

which is a fairly new procedure and it's not one that we use too often,

but invariably it is used when a

development has generated a bit of local controversy.

And there is a little bit of

local controversy surrounding this particular development.

The northern part of it is four storeys with the rooftop pavilion.

They soon spot a problem. There's only three parking spaces.

They're putting all these flats in and there's no spaces for cars.

If you move your car at eight o'clock in the morning,

you're out of the area until six o'clock at night.

There's no way you'd get back in.

It's got a long way to go, this.

Tomorrow the committee will vote...

and Christine needs to win them over.

I'm a bit nervous of what to say in front of them, know?

The plan for tonight is to try and make some notes, I suppose,

so I don't forget what to put over.

And then just do my best tomorrow for them, you know.

-I've never been the spokesperson before, so...

-SHE LAUGHS

I'm just used to working in a home looking after people.

Hey! There's a boy.

Planning laws don't just cover new buildings.

They're also there to protect our architectural heritage.

In Chester, Downswood House lies empty.

Built in 1888 for a Manchester industrialist,

it's a well-preserved example of Victorian suburbia.

The Grade II listed building was a private school for 20 years.

This class was prep. At one time,

there were 20 children in this classroom.

Sean White bought the school 12 years ago for £650,000,

and managed it until it closed in 2010.

Economically, the school wasn't viable,

so we decided to close the school.

And I'm looking to sell the property

once it's got planning permission, if it gets its planning permission.

The empty property is costing thousands to maintain,

so Sean wants to sell.

He'll get more for the house if it

has planning permission for a change of use.

He's brought in an architect to help him.

We've spent a year looking a the various options on the school.

Do we turn it into a nursing home, a closed-care scheme?

We looked at hostels. We looked at student accommodation.

I can't imagine the locals would

like 150 students coming to live on the site,

so the logical thing to do with the

house is to convert it into flats. Over at the back here...

They've settled on a combination of flats and six family homes.

We've got eight flats in the main building.

They are big flats, but that is what the building gives us.

There's some lovely feature rooms

here and we've tried to utilise those.

At the back, we have six four-bedroom houses designed

to take on and echo the theme of the

building and the style of the building,

so you can see a continuity running through the architecture.

Restoring the house on its own will

be expensive and may not return a profit.

Any developer taking the scheme on

will need the six new houses to make it worthwhile.

From a selfish point of view, we

have to maximise what we can gain from the building.

But looking at it in a wider sense,

to preserve this heritage, we have to

look at bringing this building back into use.

Into some form of manageable use where it can support itself.

Sean has put in an application to build the flats and houses.

Rob Charnley is the planner who'll be dealing with it.

-We talked about a lift here.

-So that tucks in round the corner there.

So this main section is as unchanged as possible, which we've done.

Rob will consider all aspects of the development.

I mean, is there a view in terms of enhancing a listed building?

Or is it a view that the building becomes kind of fossilised?

It's dangerous saying carving a

building up could be seen as enhancing it.

The building at the moment isn't at risk,

not to say it could become so is it was left as it was,

but at the moment it's the least

amount of development needed to maintain the listed building.

If the building fails to gain planning,

it will almost certainly end up in the hands of our bankers,

it will be boarded up and become increasingly derelict.

Rob will make a recommendation on the scheme, but Downswood is listed.

The council's chief conservation officer must see the plans first

and decide if they damage the historic building.

I suppose the most difficult thing

is those people that come along with the usual patter

about bringing the building back to its former glory,

when in actual fact you look at the scheme

and most of the special interest of

the building has disappeared as a consequence.

John's view of the plans could be enough to halt any development.

In Tarporley in Cheshire, homeowners

living next door to a field are fighting plans to build 100 houses.

The planning committee are due to

meet in a few hours' time to decide on the application,

but with an officer recommending for

approval, the neighbours are not confident.

I think we've got to the stage now where we don't expect anything.

We expect it to be approved.

The expectation is that the planning will be approved.

It's going to happen whatever we do.

Whatever the village does as a community, it's going to happen.

Retired RAF pilot David and his wife

Angela live in a four-bedroom house near the proposed housing estate.

When we moved in back in the early '90s, this was a green field

and that development was processed

around two or three years after we moved into here.

We had cows grazing there which we looked out on.

We've been hemmed in over a period of time.

It's actually all part of the same field.

That field that the planning permission has been submitted on

goes all the way round.

So that was part of the same field originally.

If the latest housing development goes ahead,

they'll lose another view from their window.

It will certainly change the village for ever.

It will and once it's done, it's done.

But not everyone shares the objectors' views.

I get more than slightly irritated

when people are objecting to a development

who live in houses that were built within the last 20 years.

I think there is a degree of hypocrisy there.

And what they'd be far better doing

is accepting that there is a need for these communities to grow

and there's an opportunity here for

the community to benefit from the new developments.

At Cheshire West Council headquarters,

the elected members of the planning

committee will decide if the housing scheme can go ahead.

I'll take a couple, all right?

Michael George will be the spokesman for the villagers.

He's got plenty of support from his neighbours.

It's great to see the community turning out in force.

It puts a bit of pressure on the

councillors and helps to focus their minds

in terms of the decisions they're

making and how it impacts local people.

He's got three minutes to try to

save the field at the end of his garden.

By approving this application,

you will set a precedent for the

building of nearly 300 houses in one village in a few years.

Councillors, you have an opportunity

to stand up for local people, local democracy and common sense

by making the right decision in rejecting this application.

-Hear, hear!

-APPLAUSE

Planner Fiona Edwards is recommending the scheme go ahead,

so the developers decide they don't want to address the committee.

The councillors have to weigh up

Michael's objections with the need for new housing.

We're dammed if we do and we're

-dammed if we don't. It's very difficult.

-No, you're not!

Whatever decision we take, we're in a very difficult situation.

If we approve this application, it's irrevocable for that community.

I'm going to move rejection of this application, Chairman.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I'll give my reasons.

The committee can't reject the plans just because the villagers object.

They must show the scheme doesn't follow planning regulations.

Chair, I now need credible planning reasons to record for that refusal.

AUDIENCE GROAN

The application is contrary to the locally adopted plan

and contrary to paragraphs 11, 17 and 69...

Just saying it's contrary to the

local plan is not sufficient, I need specific policies

and I need you to identify the

specific harm caused to each of those policies.

I'm sorry, Councillor Walmsely, but I have to have those.

Sorry, Miss Edwards, I'm moving

refusal and I've said those grounds and I'm sticking to them.

I'm not moving away from them. You have to accept them.

They are contrary to the locally

adopted plan and to those three paragraphs MPF. Full stop.

-Hear, hear!

-APPLAUSE

Councillors can now vote on the fate of the field.

Those in favour of refusal of this planning application.

-Six against.

-Could we have a named vote, please?

The planning application has been refused.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

We'll just give you a few minutes to leave if you wish.

The committee have gone against Fiona's professional advice.

I feel that members don't have to listen to me,

and I'm quite happy for them to disagree with my recommendations

if they've got reasonable thoughts behind that decision making process.

Here you could say that perhaps it

was an emotional decision as opposed to a reasonable decision,

but that's not unexpected.

I wouldn't have the members' jobs. I'd far rather have my job.

At the end of the day, we live to fight another day.

But the residents' victory is short-lived.

The developers immediately appeal

against the decision and the

application will be reconsidered in eight weeks.

So a battle has been won, but the war continues.

In Chester, the planning committee

are about to decide on the

application to extend the zoo into neighbouring fields.

Even in autumn, the site is very...

The zoo had planning permission for a massive biodome,

but they've had to scale back their plans since they lost funding.

Now they want to build an

Indonesian-themed boat ride instead, but it's still costing 30 million.

So in principle, development in this

-area of the greenbelt has been established?

-That's correct.

It's more now, is this the right size of building?

Will it look right? Will it do what they're saying it's going to do?

Because of the weather, the councillors don't get off the bus.

Most of them already know

the site very well and they know many people living nearby object.

It is a big scheme and you know it will bring jobs and business,

but we have to wait until the meeting to weigh up

what's going to be good and what's

going to be bad about it and see what we feel.

The original biodome was given approval by the council.

Planner Nial has decided this alternative scheme

for an Indonesian-themed boat ride should also go ahead.

-Hello.

-Hi.

He's about to break the news to the scheme's main objector, Paul Hobbs.

So we're at a point now where we have recommended it for approval

and it will be going to the strategic planning committee

-on the 22nd, this Thursday.

-This Thursday.

-That's correct, yeah.

The objectors say the biodome was key to the development,

and that without it the Islands

project needs a brand-new planning application.

The dome was one very significant part of it.

It's the central plank of why the committee passed the whole scheme.

If you read the documentation, it specifically states

that the biodome is to be built

before any development across the road.

I mean, the whole thing is pure fantasy at the moment.

-A lot of that...

-We're living in an alternative universe.

-Mm-hm.

-So the whole argument just falls away

and the zoo cannot have it both ways.

It is either part of the original project

or it is a new, stand-alone project. The whole thing is a farce.

-That's great.

-See you around.

-Thank you very much.

-OK.

What some objectors don't grasp is

simply because they said that they were going...

That they might put a certain type of development

on a certain part of the site,

doesn't mean to say they are fixed to that,

because the nature of an outline permission means

that you can come forward in the future with something that does look

a bit different to a scheme that was maybe illustrated at outline stage.

With the prospect of a family of orang-utans

moving into the field opposite,

the residents feel they're being ignored.

They're just not interested.

They couldn't give a damn about local people.

They are simply not interested in the concerns of local people.

Not a damn.

The zoo say they've done all they can to minimise disruption

to the neighbours.

It's an attitude I find difficult,

personally, to understand, because it's such... In a sense,

it's so negative against any form of development and growth.

I mean, we've been there since 1931. Um...

The project could be worth millions to the local economy

in increased visitors and jobs,

but though the committee are all political party members,

none of them are under pressure

from the council to approve the plans.

We're two different political sides

but we're happy when we do actually make a decision.

And the decision is not a political one.

No, and it's not whipped cos I'm a whip,

so you better watch out.

-Under no circumstance is it whipped.

-No.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

First of all, Mr Hobbs, who is going to object to the application.

The objectors get three minutes to make their case.

What is now presented to the committee

on the outline part of the project

is completely different from what was presented in 2010.

It should be re-presented as a separate planning application

because it is significantly different

to what was presented in 2010.

This has only added to the overwhelming local feeling

of being treated with complete contempt...

Next, Simon puts forward the case for the zoo.

The designs have been advanced in full consultation

with the council's officers.

We've also held a number of events locally, reaching a wide audience,

with overwhelming support recorded

at our consultation event in March 2012.

Importantly, the project is being progressed

within the original development parameters.

After the speeches from both sides,

the councillors get a chance to express their views.

I really cannot really find it in my heart of hearts to say anything

except I think this is a really good plan and I hope it's successful.

Right, we'll go to the vote, then. All those in favour, please show.

Thank you very much.

The plans are passed unanimously.

Thank you very much. And thank you.

-This is a major hurdle that you've overcome.

-I know.

It gives you confidence to go forward, doesn't it?

-It does.

-You've done really well and you did all the right things.

So...it's a frustrating process but you're there,

you know, you can move on, get it developed.

If all goes to plan, a little bit of Indonesia

will replace a Cheshire field in 18 months.

Complete lies.

'Basically, what the planning officer said there

'was completely untrue.'

It's going to have a massive impact on our lives.

Some of those people have been there 40, 50 years.

Some new people, they chose that location

because of the semi-rural...nature of it, you know, character of it.

They have completely ignored their own planning permission

that was granted in 2010.

Hopefully, we'll start the works

early May, subject to newts.

In Edinburgh, it's also committee day.

Councillors must decide whether to allow student flats

on the site of this plumbing warehouse.

The developers' plans have been opposed by neighbours,

who don't want students living next door.

I've... Got to be said - a tad nervous. Um...

We've put 15 months of work into this application

and here we are on the steps of the appeal.

This is where we find out whether all our work and all our effort

has been to good avail or not, so, yeah, feeling a little bit nervous.

Oh, tossing and turning all night thinking of what to say, you know,

but we'll try and get our points over.

Hopefully, somebody will listen, you know.

The site is considered

to be acceptable for student accommodation.

It is recommended that committee approve the application,

subject to legal agreement relating to transport infrastructure

and conditions on materials, landscaping and boundary treatments.

It's Christine's chance to persuade the committee

to go against their officer's recommendation

and reject the student housing.

There's really a lot of anger in our development just now.

The ones with families are very concerned.

They don't want to have students

amongst their families, their children.

They need to get their sleep.

That's... That's about, you know, what I want to put through.

The developers can now try to counter Christine's arguments.

I think there's a very outdated image of students now.

They have changed because they are paying a lot more.

They are a lot more conscientious about how they behave.

But also, more importantly, this is a managed environment

and the university does have the ultimate sanction

of kicking a student off a degree course if they misbehave,

and I would like to emphasise

that the university has given two assurances -

one is that they will have 24-hour on-site security.

Also that they are prepared to set up

some form of committee with the local residents

to talk about any issues that might arise,

so they are very willing to do that.

But Christine and the objectors have a very influential supporter -

their local councillor, Donald Wilson,

is also Edinburgh's Lord Provost,

Scotland's equivalent of a Lord Mayor.

There has to be a compelling reason to grant this,

not a compelling reason to reject it.

And I don't think there's any compelling reasons

being made in this report.

In fact, quite the reverse. It's a small site.

Just because the surrounding area is densely populated,

that's no reason for densely populating this one as well.

And I would urge you to reject it.

Now it's time for the committee to discuss the plans before voting.

If we don't grant these sorts of things,

where are the students going to go?

And my view is that purpose-built student accommodation

is the way to go.

Equally, there is the issue of just how much development

do you put into individual sites

and that's my...unease about all of this.

I agree with you. We need more accommodation.

I feel that this site, 200 and odd,

in such a small space and the area it's in, it's just far too much.

Those voting to refuse planning permission, please show.

One, two, three, four.

Those voting for the motion to grant planning permission,

please show.

One, two, three, four, five, six.

The motion by Councillor Perry is...

OK, thank you very much.

I'm very angry. I mean, I just don't see the point of having a committee

when they're not thinking about the people,

they're just thinking about money, aren't they?

It's going to end up... Edinburgh is going to be like

all student flats, offices, hotels

and no people living in it, no...no families.

Well, obviously we got our consent, so we are very relived,

but our estimate of a 75% chance

actually turned out to be a bit optimistic as it was a 6-4 vote.

What can you do? We're just ordinary people.

We can't do much about it, no.

In Chester, Sean White wants planning permission to convert

the Victorian splendour of Downswood into eight flats

and build six houses in its grounds.

He wants a similar development to the one next door.

Gilwern House was an army barracks

before being converted into flats and houses eight years ago.

It's quite a stunning development. Um... What they've done here

I believe is,

they've actually enhanced a Grade II-listed building.

They've managed to retain the original features,

but complemented again with brand-new leaded lights, er,

mimicking the previous design,

but all double-glazed.

This is the original ceiling. So this is untouched.

And everybody comes and thinks, "Wow, what a fantastic house."

Our niece thinks it's a castle.

There's lots of character

and it has a great atmosphere in it.

It was incredibly clever...

The eight flats were each sold for over £300,000

and the houses in the grounds for up to 450,000 -

a considerable profit for the developers.

They've preserved all the key features of the building

and yet you've got modern living in a beautiful listed building.

For Sean to carry out a similar conversion,

he needs the support of conservation officer John Healey.

John has to decide what effect the conversions would have

on Downswood's Grade II-listed status.

It is an extraordinary building.

The quality of it is...is really excellent.

It's in the rather typical sort of Chester vernacular revival style,

Tudorbethan style, and that's carried on internally.

This is astonishingly beautiful, and the stained glass

and the decorative plasterwork and the wonderful mullion windows.

I mean, the whole thing is a piece, isn't it?

Sean's plans retain many original features,

but dividing walls and other structural changes

would have to be made.

There is a building here which is in perfectly good order.

It retains a...a...

a complete interior of its time.

The problem with the scheme of conversion is that

nine units in here is quite intensive,

and it's clearly a much less desirable solution

than someone just moving in and, you know, putting in some en suites.

I just can't see any justification for taking this one forward

in any form at the moment.

The changes to Gilwern next door do not set a planning precedent.

If you look at the adjoining site, you can see how a modern development

can impact very severely,

in my view, on the setting of a listed building.

In that case, the arguments were rather different.

Essentially, you had a brownfield site full of military buildings.

You didn't have a building that was still sitting, essentially,

within its own original setting.

The Grade II listing means John's opposition

is enough to get the proposal rejected.

Clearly, the development that's proposed,

not only is it unnecessary, but it's harmful.

Listed buildings, they're 2% of the housing stock.

Listed buildings that survive with the quality of the interior

that you see here are far fewer than those 2%,

so I'm keen to see something which retains the integrity

of the listed building.

You want us to keep it as one single house.

There's no market for that in this area.

Put this ten miles away in the countryside,

in the middle of rolling fields, it would make a fabulous house.

But in the location where it is,

a five-bedroom house here

in 8,500 square feet is just unviable.

Sean's spent £15,000 on this latest application.

Now he'll have to reconsider what he does with Downswood.

Do the locals want this building to be derelict,

because that is what will happen if the planners get their way?

It's three weeks since plans to build houses on a field in Tarporley

were rejected by Cheshire Council.

The developers have appealed against the decision.

I've been up the high street today

and so many people have had these little letters

saying it's been rejected - "We've won, we've won."

-No, no.

-No, not yet.

You've got to wait.

Since the committee meeting, the locals have complained

about the way head planner, Fiona, handled the application.

They made a complaint about me

and they went through our complaint system

and everybody's entitled to make a complaint. That's right and proper.

And the ombudsman found that there wasn't a complaint to uphold.

The thing that people get worked up about is

when that green field that they've looked out on

for 5, 10, 15 years is going to be developed,

and that's the thing that upsets them.

It's as if she has made up her mind up a long time ago

that this application should be approved and that's it,

no matter what people say or what evidence we put in front of her.

Whatever regulations or planning policies that we quote,

she just turns around and says, "No, not interested."

'If there's something that we feel very frustrated about

'that we can't change, it's easier to blame somebody else.'

It's easy to blame somebody rather than actually

take some action to change a system.

I suspect some of the objectors and things would say

that I'm a very hard person and very difficult to deal with

and I'm quite scary,

but I'd like to believe in real life I'm not.

The application is now out of the hands of Fiona

and the local planning committee

and down to the government-appointed inspector to decide.

My name is Keith Manning and I'm a chartered town planner.

I've been appointed by the Secretary of State to determine this appeal.

'You could almost say it's a bit like a court of law.'

The planning inspector, who is appointed from the Inspectorate,

will sit as the judge.

'There's no jury.

'And there will be expert witnesses on both sides,

'cross-examined by the other parties.'

If the inspector goes against Fiona's support for the scheme,

then it will have a knock-on effect

on the way she handles other greenfield development.

The appeal will take nine months and consider everyone's views...

Yeah, I think your shoes are probably clean by now.

..including that from Norma and Frank's bedroom.

You can have two vantage points, one from the study

and one from the bedroom.

So that's... We're at the...

-the high point, aren't we?

-Yeah.

Even if it goes against us, I think he will have

taken everything into account and given us a fair hearing.

Who's going to determine the output? Would you like to bet on it?

I wouldn't.

Well, I wouldn't bet because I'm a Scotsman

and Scotsmen don't give money away easily, you see.

I think it's wrong that we've had to work so hard

and spend so much time making points

that, to us, are...are blatantly obvious.

And the cost and expense of these guys walking around the field,

it just seems fatuous.

I just hope these people now actually can see the validity

of some of the points we've raised.

It would be nice to think they've got the common sense

to do the right thing for the village,

not just for the numbers and the politics, but for the village.

Hmm. I agree.

Well said, wife.

I would imagine that little line there is the edge...

Yes, because these are the buildings we've stood...

-REPORTER:

-How do you think this is going to go?

To be absolutely honest, I don't know.

I mean, it used to be, it wasn't the amount of objection,

it was the substance of the objection.

So it will be interesting to see if amount outweighs substance,

but we won't know that until the inquiry has finished,

so the wait for Tarporley goes on.

Nine months later, there is still no ruling from the inspector.

But developers have wasted no time

in picking off another field around the village.

The plan, very simply, is to build 40 houses on this piece of land.

The whole of the field from this boundary backwards

is within the conservation area for Tarporley.

Judging by the number of objections I've had,

it's not popular in the village, it's fair to say,

but, then, that comes as no surprise

with these sorts of developments.

Next time on The Planners...

A fact-finding mission for a planner

leads to a grisly discovery.

It's actually quite difficult to tell what's in there.

There's probably some bits of bone.

Cheltenham residents rally to help a family of 11...

This is for their supper tonight -

fish, ham, peanuts and cat food.

But when I do them bread rolls they go wild.

And a 13-year battle with the planners come to a head.

I'm going to do my darndest to get these blighters on the hook

and expose them for what they are -

evil bunch of bureaucrats.