Episode 7 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 about building a sort of Berlin Wall.

It's got to be at least 6ft high.

So constructors are making plans...

Whoever designed that needs to be shot.

..objectors are making noises...

I've had bloody enough of it with what we've got in this town

-for counsellors and the load of

-BLEEP

-they're putting up.

..and neighbours are going to war.

We always won our battles as a family,

and 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. No? Yes? No? Yes?

Well, thank you for letting us visit,

-and we'll see you on Thursday.

-SHE SNIFFLES

Another British planning cock-up, really.

Ooh!

Most planners spend their days dealing with homeowners

and housing developers.

But every now and then,

an application arrives that's a little out of the ordinary.

Planner Judith Gordon is near the villages of Lostock Green

and Lach Dennis in Cheshire.

This is what the proposed site layout entails.

And we're standing round about here.

And then...

..this would be the building itself.

It would be a similar size probably to a bungalow.

It may look like a detached house

with a lot of parking spaces and a large chimney,

but it is, in fact, a crematorium.

We haven't dealt with a new private crematorium before,

so it's a process of learning for everybody involved.

-It's long grass, isn't it?

-It's really long.

-Waders might have been more appropriate.

-I know!

Some of my colleagues have said, "I wish I was dealing with that."

I think they'd maybe like to accompany on

certainly visits to crematoriums and see what really goes on

and dispel some of the myths that people have.

Last year, planners received just a handful of applications

to build private crematoria.

Three of those were from father and son Howard and Jamieson Hodgson.

They're hoping to build their next crematorium in Cheshire,

but their flagship development is in South Wales.

We wanted people to feel

that it was professional, that it was comfortable,

that it was like a five-star hotel,

but at the same time, it wasn't mauve curtains

and very Victorian, depressing death,

but it was sombre but yet still tastefully done.

And I think, you know, we've achieved that.

These are very modern colours,

but at the same time, they are restrained.

They're not jazzy.

Most crematoria are counsel-owned.

The Hodgsons have spotted a gap in the market,

and charge upwards of £500 for services at their memorial parks.

The public's biggest single complaint

would definitely be that they're in a conveyor belt.

And so the whole thing is designed

so they won't see anybody else out there,

they won't hear anybody else behind them here,

they will exit over there from a different way,

and we have 45-minute times, whereas the usual is...

It can be, in a very busy crematorium, 20.

More usually, probably 30.

I've grown up in this business. I remember, when I was very young,

my sister and I had easily the fastest sledges

because they were made of coffin boards.

Howard sold his undertaker business for £7 million.

Private crematoria are his latest venture,

and he spent nearly £100,000 on the application in Cheshire.

The reason that we would want to build it,

erm, is because it's needed.

We're looking to service in the region of 140,000 people.

So it is there for community benefit.

It's also worth remembering that any one of these that is built by us

will cost something between £3.5 million to £4 million.

That's a big investment,

and we have to know that there is a need.

If it's not going to do 1,000 cremations a year,

then it's not going to give us our money back.

Crematoria have to be at least 200 yards from neighbouring buildings,

which is why Memoria have picked the Cheshire site.

It'd be quite small in terms of the general landscape,

but you need to consider

what kind of impact that's going to have on this...

You know, it's rural in nature. It's virgin agricultural land.

This kind of application

is something that's going to provoke a response.

The locals seem to be fairly anti.

The proposed site lies on a B road

half a mile between the two villages.

The locals have wasted no time putting pen to paper.

Among them, national newspaper cartoonist...

-That's the wrong way round.

-..Bill Stott.

Where the crematorium

is going to be

is a lovely meadow.

It's really nice. It's full of that green stuff called grass.

I'd far rather it stayed like that.

It just feels sad that the developers -

a company from down south -

can come up here and bulldoze in our village

not knowing anything about it, the people, the place.

We have a farm.

A farm is what we have. It's farmland.

What we don't want is

a damn great chimney and crematorium

ruining a fantastic piece of Cheshire countryside.

One of their big worries is the amount of speeding traffic

the crematorium could bring through the villages.

-We have another fast car coming now.

-Exactly.

Here we go. Look at the speed of this one.

-Whoa!

-Gosh, that's appalling!

This is not an infrequent occurrence.

This is regular. This is a rural lane.

There will be probably seven funerals a day.

That's 14 trips if you count going home again.

Well, going home again minus one.

In Lancashire, self-made millionaire Colin Burrell

is working on his current project -

three new homes in Oldham.

I'm 72. I'm still going,

and I get up between six and half past every morning.

And I might not go in for my tea till ten o'clock at night.

That's truth, that.

Right... Ooh, them are big nails.

Colin's made a fortune buying up derelict properties

and selling them on.

If you want something, you've got to work for it.

Nobody'll give you nowt.

Although this country seems to give everybody summat for nowt.

-I shouldn't say that, should I?

-HE LAUGHS

For his latest project, he's teamed up with his friend,

kitchen entrepreneur Mark Harrington,

and architect Andy Woodward.

They want to build five log cabins as holiday homes

on land Colin owns in the village of Birtle on the outskirts of Rochdale.

They're a kind of a traditional log cabin.

A traditional log home.

Two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a living area.

It's not going to look like

your traditional caravan site

or anything like that. It fits in with the rural aspect.

It's very low impact.

The main reason we're going for log cabins

is because we think it's in keeping with the area.

The footpaths are going to be built from something like chippings

or bark that will allow water to go through,

and so they won't affect the trees or anything.

We just wanted to put together a quality development.

-It's not...

-Which we think we've done.

-Yeah.

And if you're not going to get planning approval for this here,

you're not going to get planning approval for it anywhere at all.

They hope to rent the cabins out and encourage tourism in Rochdale.

The Rochdale tourist board have been very, very excited

cos they know that there's a lack of quality dwellings for tourists

on this side of the town.

-Yeah. Well, it's a nice place for a millionaire, even, here.

-Yeah.

You know, and the working man, as well.

I think the people round here would be quite proud of it, actually.

-This is your dog, Julie, isn't it?

-It is.

-What's he called? She?

-Maisie.

Maisie, are you coming to help in the woodland?

But the villagers are already proud of Birtle.

In the past, they've fought off plans for a quarry

and have created an action group to protect the look of the village.

We are an action group, yes.

Sometimes, we don't feel very active in the pub

when we're having a meeting.

But, yes, we are an action group.

We act and we react to things. Depends what they are.

When they saw the plans for the log cabins, they reacted.

We don't want the log cabins

because it's inappropriate development on the green belt

and it's just on the edge of the conservation area.

There are more reasons, but those are the main ones.

-Are you a local person?

-Yeah.

Although I'm an incomer, I've lived here

for 42 years. And, you know, we have tried very hard

to preserve it. As you can see, it is a lovely spot.

It's got a lot of character.

We're trying to keep Birtle...

Well, Birtle beautiful.

Right, I think that's full.

The Birtle Trust has written to the planning department

asking for the cabins to be refused.

I bet half of them people what live there are all comer-inners anyway.

I bet they weren't the original ones what worked in the mills.

They think they're summat special, comer-inners.

Every time you go and build something, people think,

"Ooh, what's going on?" But they wouldn't be in their houses.

The best outcome for Birtle would be that it's refused.

Keep Birtle green and no more built-on than it is already.

We sound like real Nimbys, don't we?

Don't mean to. We just want Birtle to be beautiful,

-don't we?

-Yes, of course we do.

-As beautiful as it can be.

-Yes.

It'll be down to Rochdale planner Rebecca Coley

to decide if the cabins can go ahead.

We do have quite a lot of tourism, and we do get a lot of walkers,

cyclists, and horse riders round the various trails.

So, there is a recognised need for tourism accommodation,

and we need to be convinced that it is the right sort of development.

If people are very protective over changes to the area they live in,

they're equally passionate about any threats to the wildlife

in their own back gardens.

Usually, throw out just three or four handfuls of these bird nuts.

It seems to keep them happy.

In this suburban corner of Cheltenham,

there's one family that's particularly popular

with the neighbours.

This is for their supper tonight.

That's fish, ham, peanuts, and cat food.

But when I do them bread rolls, they go wild.

Can I have a quick peep out in case they're here?

Quite often, we'll see the security light next door come on.

Then you'll hear rustling in the bushes,

and out they'll come.

RUSTLING

It's quarter to ten, and we have a badger.

There are around 20 badgers living in a sett

on the land at the end of the gardens.

Last year, we had

11 badgers and two foxes in the drive at one time.

That's a sandwich from next door.

It's really good - really good - as long as they stay off my lawn.

Three weeks ago, developers submitted plans

to build on the land where the badgers live.

I think that if the planned development goes ahead,

there's bound to be an impact on the wildlife,

and that would be a shame.

New building land in Cheltenham is so hard to find

that developers have persuaded some homeowners

to sell parts of their back gardens -

a strategy known as garden grabbing.

Planner Rob Lindsey is dealing with the housing application

that could affect the badger setts.

It's a proposal to put up nine detached houses

on a site which has been assembled from rear gardens.

Developers are having to look at several different sites,

different ownerships, and assemble them into one development site.

Even though they're gardens, the land is overgrown...

Looks good for badgers, doesn't it?

..which makes it the ideal home for badgers.

Oh, look, a feeding bowl.

Development near badgers has to take place

respecting the badgers and their habits,

particularly their foraging habits because they have a main sett.

They forage from that. And they have outlying setts.

There are two or three of those on this site,

so that's one of the major constraints.

Construction is sometimes allowed near to badgers,

but their setts are protected.

Any harm to the animals can result in fines of up to £5,000

and a possible prison sentence.

There is scope for development,

as long as the proper procedures are put in place

for keeping the main badger sett active

and allowing the badgers their normal foraging.

It's a difficult balance.

Some people living nearby don't want any disruption

and have written in to object to the housing plans.

Oh, I love them.

If I saw anybody doing anything wrong,

I'd be very, very cross.

When the wildlife reports come in,

the planners will decide whether the badgers must make way

for the new housing.

In Cheshire, objectors to the proposed crematorium

are getting organised.

They've formed a committee

and even appointed a PR officer to fight against developers Memoria -

dress shop owner Rosemarie Teece.

I put together a newsletter for the villagers to look at,

and I did some little scenarios about what would happen

if a child's crossing the road and there's an accident,

because, you know, he's not looked both ways.

And what would happen if, you know,

you can't sell your house for three years.

The questions that children are going to be asking.

"Why is that black car driving so slowly, Mummy? What's in that box in the back? Where are they going?

"What are they going to be doing with it down there?

"Why has it got flowers on it?" You know,

"Will I do that with my hamster when he dies?"

You know, these sort of things that...

Children are going to be asking these questions,

and their parents have got to have the answers for them.

Memoria have thrust death on our children without any option.

It's life-changing for the villages.

It completely changes a quiet, rural village into...

We don't like to think about what.

In their mind's eye, when they know there's going to be

a crematorium built, they don't see this.

They see black smoke pouring out of

these brick chimneys that are going to destroy their property values.

Just not true.

It's the big taboo subject. We're frightened of death,

and that's why we either have to treat it like Dracula

or treat it as if it's a comedy.

This'll be interesting.

Planner Judith Gordon is visiting the local

council-run crematorium in Warrington.

She'll make a recommendation on Memoria's proposal,

but she needs to understand the likely environmental impact

of a new crematorium in Cheshire.

There seem to be a lot of myths about crematoriums

and about what happens to bodies and whose remains you get and so on,

so I think it's really important to understand the complexity

of the service that's provided.

-He's paying his respects now, the minister.

-Yes.

He will then, in a moment,

make his way to this door here, as we said before.

MUSIC: Barwick Green (Theme To The Archers)

Ah, they like The Archers, then.

Each year, the crematorium handles 2,000 services.

On average, you're looking about 18 minutes per cremation.

-Wow.

-OK?

Warrington crematorium is more than twice the size

of the one proposed in Cheshire.

As well as considering traffic and landscape,

Judith has to look at the possible impact

of the incinerator on the atmosphere.

This is the operational side of things, OK?

On completion of the cremation process,

the remains will then drop down into here, OK?

Once they're cooled sufficiently, the remains are then taken from here

-to the transfer cabinet, which is this here.

-OK.

This is a magnet that you'll gently run through the remains.

And that magnet will then kind of extract

any metal objects, any pins, OK?

-So, you'll have things like kneecaps or hip joints...

-Yeah.

..and things like that which will come out in whole pieces?

-Yeah, you will physically see those.

-OK.

-OK?

This feels very sort of clinical, I think.

To actually follow the process, it's dispelled a lot of myths.

If you want to look in there, Judith,

you'll actually see now that there's very little left in there now.

It's not a kind of upsetting thing at all.

You couldn't actually identify that there had been a body in there

or that it was the remains of a body.

I always wanted to be buried.

It was my personal theory that I came into this world with two arms,

-two legs and a head, and I'd want to go out the same way.

-Yeah.

But after seeing this process, there's dignity in this.

There's cleanliness in this. You know, there's...

-You know, you can take somebody away.

-Yeah.

So, I'm now beginning to rethink this

and thinking, "Well, perhaps cremation is the way forward."

You know?

Judith has eight weeks to make her recommendation,

but she won't have the final say.

That'll be down to the 11 elected members

of Cheshire West's planning committee.

In the village of Birtle, near Rochdale,

there's an application to build four log cabins on green belt land.

Colin Burrell and his friend Mark Harrington

are off to see what the log cabins could look like

if they get permission.

Oh, it's a beautiful setting.

Now, anybody that says they don't like this, Colin,

bloomin' heck, there's something wrong with them.

These 11 cabins near Bradford in Yorkshire

are rented out to holiday-makers for up to £170 a night.

Wipe your feet. Look at that.

-So, there you go.

-Yeah, it's very nice.

I'd recommend it for an 'oliday here.

A little wood-burning stove there in the corner.

Ooh, I'd be asleep the whole time.

-Hey!

-King of the castle, eh?

-HE LAUGHS

This is very nice. Very nice.

-Ooh, you've got a thing.

-Yeah, that's your steam room, isn't it?

-Oh, no, no. What do you call it?

-Sauna.

-They throw water on.

-A sauna.

-A what?

-A sauna.

-Sauna!

-Sauna.

If the log cabins are built in Birtle,

they will stand on wooden stilts and won't need foundations.

Even so, the locals don't want any development on the green belt.

The people who don't want us to do this in Birtle,

if you brought them over here and said...

Hired a coach and said, "Just come and have a look at this.

"Now tell me you don't want it.

"Tell me it's not going to be nice," or whatever.

-I don't know.

-I can't fault them.

Back in Birtle, planner Rebecca Coley needs to work out

if the cabins would harm the trees and threaten the green belt.

We have a tourism officer and he has written a letter

saying that he would support log cabins

in this part of the borough.

But that doesn't outweigh the fact that it's in the green belt.

There are... There are other sites.

There are fundamentally two issues here.

There's the principle of the development in the green belt.

Is it appropriate or inappropriate?

And then there's the issue of the protected trees,

which would be the case whether this site was in the green belt or not.

I find it very difficult to comprehend

how they're going to get a log cabin on here

without some impact on that tree. The roots...

The roots are going to be out to at least here, if not further.

And if you dig down and hit tree roots,

then you damage those trees, and those trees are likely to die.

Rebecca will need to see evidence that Colin and Mark can deliver

the cabins without damaging the environment.

-There you go, Mr Burrell. Let's take a seat, sir.

-Right, OK. Thank you.

-Look at that.

-Take a seat. Enjoy.

Oh, yeah. It's just beefed me up even more now, seeing this.

I really want to do it now.

We should have brought a six-pack, Colin.

No, I'm not going the route of that.

-Had enough on Saturday.

-Did you?

-HE CHUCKLES

Oh, God.

It isn't a particularly well-thought-out scheme,

I don't think.

So, there's a lot of detail, which just hasn't...

Doesn't seem to have been thought about,

or has been thought about...

..and they know that they would have a detrimental impact,

so they're trying to not mention it and hope that we don't notice.

I always notice! Don't get very much past me.

Hello. Can I speak to Rebecca, please?

-ON PHONE:

-Yes, speaking.

-Rebecca, it's Mark.

When Colin and Mark read Rebecca's concerns,

they decide on a conference call.

There's no trees coming down at all. Not at any point.

But there would be no way

of actually getting construction vehicles

or actually getting the log cabins into the site.

Yeah, but we weren't really anticipating

putting any vehicles on the site. Just delivering the materials,

and they would be carried by the workers.

It all comes in pieces, you see. It doesn't come in sections.

But how would we control that?

We can't be there to prevent your workers coming in

and taking those trees out and damaging those trees.

And there's other issues with the ground levels and drainage

and hard and soft landscaping.

-Yeah.

-If you were to resubmit the application

with the necessary information,

-you may well be able to address those reasons.

-OK.

-Thanks very much, Rebecca.

-Bye.

-Thank you, bye.

She's telling him, as a layman, saying,

"Oh, yes, but you can't do this, you can't...

"We can't come back and watch the trees. We can't do that."

What a load of bunkum.

I just got the impression that she didn't want it.

HE CHUCKLES

Colin and Mark have an opportunity to submit more evidence

to convince Rebecca before she makes a final decision on the log cabins.

The planning process can be frustrating,

but the consequences of ignoring it can be life-changing.

On the banks of the River Dee in Cheshire sits Heron Lodge,

home to Peter Johnson.

We get prepared for the evening.

Get our logs in, get our fire on,

pour out the gin and tonic.

73-year-old Peter bought his retirement home near Farndon

13 years ago.

It was built in the late 19th century

and was a holiday home

until he set about extending it and converting it for permanent use.

This part of it was the original part

up to the brick pier that you see over on the left.

So, this was the original old cottage.

It ticked all the boxes, as they say today.

It gave me a home in the country.

It wasn't expensive.

It needed a lot of work, so I could put my stamp on it.

It was my retirement home. That's why I chose it.

But Peter always knew that Heron Lodge wasn't perfect.

The problems with the river, really, is that

it will come over its bank

and just literally flood the whole of the area.

You would not believe the volume of water

that empties out onto this flood plain.

Peter had a solution to the flooding.

He got permission to use jacks to raise his house 6ft,

lifting it out of the flood plain.

The cottage was at the same level as the lane out there.

We dragged RSJs underneath the building - four of them -

sat them on jacks,

and literally jacked the old girl up an inch at a time.

Probably a little bit crackers.

I think my kids would probably have me locked up

for taking the whole project on in the first place!

Peter had permission to raise the house on jacks,

but filling in the land underneath it

and creating a small hill around the house needs separate permission,

and Peter has had it refused.

Now the council's planning enforcement team are involved.

I like the idea, in a way, of living next to a river

and living a sort of Wind In The Willows-type lifestyle.

But it would certainly make life very, very difficult, I think,

having to put up with regular floods every year.

The council has ordered the land around Heron Lodge

to be restored to its original level.

The case is due to go to court,

but Nial wants to see if anything can be done.

He has tried to gain planning permission

for numerous works carried out on the property,

all of which have failed.

The only one that he's been granted permission for

was raising the actual house itself.

And it's just not an appropriate development

within a flood plain, unfortunately.

The water has to go somewhere.

And if you displace water from a flood plain,

then, in theory, someone else can get flooded as a result of that.

Peter has no permanent neighbours...

..but for the council, it's a point of principle.

-Hi. Nial Casselden.

-Hi, Nial.

-Hi there. Hello.

-Peter Johnson.

-Hello. Good to meet you.

-Good to meet you.

I'm probably the wrong side of 70 to be living

right out in the country in isolation,

but I don't want to give it up.

Too much blood, sweat and tears, isn't it?

I can certainly understand, from both angles,

why it's got to this situation.

So, I can appreciate why the works were carried out,

but I can also appreciate why the council might have felt

-that they had to take some kind of action.

-Mm-hm.

-I suppose the question now is how it gets resolved.

-Yeah.

Peter's refusing to remove the raised earth

that surrounds the house,

so there's nothing Nial can do to prevent court action.

I mean, in many ways, it's out of the planning department's hands now.

Cos they've obtained an injunction.

Yeah, it's headed off into the courts.

It is sad cos you don't really want to see anyone

getting into this level of trouble,

but I think he did go into it with open eyes.

He did get advice,

and he took the decision that he was going to do something different.

I am an English bulldog.

I just hate bureaucracy,

and I hate being told what I can do with my own property.

An Englishman's home is supposed to be his castle.

Having ignored the planners, Peter's fate lies in the courts,

and he could lose Heron Lodge

if the council insist on recovering their legal costs.

My whole life is poured into this project,

into this building and this home.

After fighting the council for 12 years,

all the money that I'd got, that's all gone.

I've got to this time in my life

and I've been licked by a bunch of bureaucrats,

which I never thought would ever happen to me.

I could be homeless. I'd certainly be penniless.

They'll have to take it from me. Yeah. Yeah.

Welcome to Badger Towers,

and if you follow me, I'll give you a little tour around.

We can start with the sitting room.

In Cheltenham, plans to build nine houses

on the site of a badger sett

have not gone down well with the neighbours,

but they've found someone to lead their protest.

One of our badgers is sitting down here, which is Uncle Ted,

and then there is Grandad Badger, who's an antique, in fact.

And Fritz, dressed in his German lederhosen.

Peter Christensen has run

Badger Towers B&B for the last 13 years.

That is Mr Badger.

It's right next door to the development site.

We have a link to the badgers, in a way,

because of the name, of course.

And we are very fond of the badgers and of the wildlife in this area.

The badgers have been there for a long time.

They are a protected species,

and therefore should be treated with respect.

Mr Badger will fight it to the end.

But since the objections were lodged,

Peter and the other neighbours have started to suspect foul deeds.

You can see across there, there's a bit of overgrown land there,

and the badger setts are in there.

And so it's difficult to keep an eye

on what's happening to the badgers, of course,

cos people can interfere with them without anybody easily finding out.

White smoke has been seen rising above the badger sett.

There was an attempt, I understand,

that somebody was trying to smoke them out,

and the police were called and unblocked the sett.

They didn't actually find any individuals,

so you can't really point your finger at anybody,

but they did come and unblock it, apparently.

These suspicions come as no surprise

to the developer's agent Simon Firkins.

You can see here that one of the existing homeowners

has been clearing hedge trimmings and things like that,

and having a bonfire on their own site,

which they are perfectly entitled to do.

And that could be a very, very simple explanation for the smoke

that some of the local residents say they've seen coming from the site.

Simon's job is to make sure the nine houses get permission

and the developers don't fall foul of wildlife laws.

OK. Well, here we are...

..in a different part of the site.

You can't really see very much because it's so overgrown,

but, basically, the main area of badger activity

is in that part of the site just there.

And we've employed a specialist ecologist

to demonstrate, as part of the application,

that we're not going to hopefully do the badgers any harm at all,

and what we've got on the plans is a badger exclusion zone.

The main sett is within this zone here

and so what's showing by this blue dotted line

is basically an exclusion zone

where we can't develop in

or even have any private garden areas in.

That is the zone that's going to be set aside

for badgers to use as they wish.

Obviously, it's in my client's best interests

to deal with the badgers on-site

in absolutely the correct and proper way.

I don't think they care.

I think what they're doing in this particular plan

is paying lip service to the badger population and nothing more.

The amended layout and provision of a construction-free badger zone

means the planners are happy, so the houses can go ahead.

You've got to listen to what

the experts on wildlife have to say about it,

and we've had the submitted ecologist's scheme,

which says that the badgers can be accommodated with the development.

So, I think you've got to be objective and set aside

the emotional side of furry creatures.

There are specific regulations that cover disturbance

of a protected species habitat, and this scheme complies with that.

But the number of objections means this application won't be decided

by Rob and the planners alone.

It'll go before a committee where the elected councillors will decide.

In Cheshire, the application to build a private crematorium

is about to be considered by the planning committee members,

among them retired farmer Norman Wright,

who lives with his wife June six miles from the proposed site.

He can be very busy, but, erm,

it's worth it. It seems worth it.

-You feel as if it's worth doing it, don't you?

-Yeah.

Worthwhile. You'd never get any thanks,

but you don't expect any thanks.

I think he's a very good counsellor.

I like helping people, and try and sort their problems out.

-Don't we?

-Yes.

-Yeah.

Norman's been on the planning committee for ten years,

including a spell as chairman.

We have to read the reports,

and you have to make that decision, which is very hard sometimes.

-Norman's tough.

-SHE LAUGHS

The crematorium plans are controversial,

but Norman and the committee

will have the officer's advice to guide them.

Planner Judith Gordon has made her recommendation.

I have recommended approval of the application.

We've had to consider all the details of the application,

the impact on highways, particularly,

and also whether it's appropriate

to put a crematorium on a greenfield site.

There is a need for new crematoria

in that particular part of the borough,

and the need should override any policy objection

that there is about it being on a greenfield site.

Back in the village, Judith's report is a setback for the objectors.

-Disappointed, really.

-Very.

-Very disappointed.

There was one phrase that she quoted, which I noted down.

She said, "It will not cause unacceptable harm."

So, therefore, the corollary of that is it WILL cause acceptable harm.

And I do... I just feel disappointed.

But it's the councillors that will make the decision.

Yes, that's the hope.

-I mean, we haven't lost yet.

-We haven't lost yet.

Before they vote on the private crematorium,

the committee visit the site with a member of the planning team.

The site's actually on the other side of this hedgerow now.

The entrance involves the removal

of 20m of hedgerow,

but none of the trees would actually come out.

And, actually, it's on a good, straight stretch of road,

so as vehicles turn in and out,

-there's a good view from both directions.

-There is.

There is good visibility in both directions.

-It certainly meets the standards for visibility.

-Yeah.

We believe that we have the planning arguments at this site

to go ahead, which is why we're here.

We are very careful to make sure that,

when we have chosen a site,

that it will comply with all of the things

that we know it needs to comply with.

I mean, you could say that a planning application

will cost £100,000,

so, I mean, if you lose one, you've lost £100,000.

But support from the planning officer

is no guarantee the application will succeed.

Councillors can weigh up all opinions put before them.

You can't make a decision.

You've got to listen to all the arguments

before you make a decision.

It's like being on a jury, where, in fact,

you would not expect the jurors to have come to a decision

before they've heard all the evidence.

I have been asked by local residents to take you up

and drive through Lostock Green and see the access.

"Don't wreck our village."

-That's why they want us to come down here.

-Yes.

To see this sign. "No crematorium."

But you can understand it. There's a lot more traffic.

I mean, one has to sympathise, even if one doesn't always agree.

When the bus returns to the council offices,

the villagers will find out if their protests have struck a chord,

and Memoria will find out if it's £100,000 well spent.

You just have to wait, and that's probably the hardest bit.

At least it isn't a wind farm.

HE LAUGHS

In Birtle, near Rochdale, a decision has been made

on the application to build four log cabins on the green belt.

Planner Rebecca Coley has posted the decision online

for applicants Mark Harrington and Colin Burrell to read.

I would expect yes

because it's making the area better, whatever anybody says.

It is going to make the area better.

And it'll look nice.

Decision. There's the decision.

That's the little chap we want.

Right, OK.

On the heading there, "Rochdale Council,

"Metropolitan Borough Council, refusal of planning permission."

So, they have refused it.

The reasons.

Right. "The site lies within the Greater Manchester green belt,

"where the erection of new buildings is inappropriate development."

It's not green belt. It's next to a pub.

It's like the centre of the village. People object.

No matter what you tell them,

they can object, and they will object.

The applicant hasn't demonstrated that the works could proceed

without having to lose some of those trees.

-They're not going to go near the trees.

-No, but there's roots.

Yeah, roots. I've got more trees on my land than they've got there!

There are eight reasons for refusal.

It is a lot.

Normally, there'd only be one or two,

but there are a lot of issues with this site.

They've taken a chance and it's not worked out.

Clearly, it's something which can't be supported in the green belt.

There was only ever going to be one conclusion, really, for this one.

In Birtle, it's welcome news for Patricia Sullivan,

leader of the group opposing development in the village.

Fantastic. I'm so happy.

Really happy. I need to go for a drink very soon.

What time is it? It's early.

In Cheshire, the River Dee has burst its banks

for the ninth time in 12 months.

Peter Johnson's home is now surrounded by floodwater,

and he's using his boat and waders to get to and from Heron Lodge.

You need the fridge and the freezer and the cupboards stocked up,

plenty of gin and tonic in, and live with it, you know.

If it takes three or four days a year

of a little bit of difficulty with the boat,

it's worth it to live out in a place like this.

Despite the flood,

the house is high and dry, and that's the problem.

Peter had permission to raise the house on jacks,

but he's been told to remove the soil that he banked up around it.

He ignored enforcement notices

telling him to restore the land to its previous levels.

Hello, Justin. Are you all right?

If the levels were restored, the house would be left on stilts.

Yeah, if you comply with the enforcement notices,

you'll finish up with an uninhabitable dwelling

that will be totally wrecked.

I don't think there's any common sense

in terms of making a compromise with Chester Council.

Now the council also wants £50,000

to cover enforcement action and legal costs.

It's money Peter says he hasn't got,

so they're considering seizing his home.

It is absolutely stupid.

And all I've done is protected my home from flooding. Eh?

Does it make any sense? None of it makes any sense.

-British justice, eh?

-HE SCOFFS

There you go. C'est la vie.

Peter's feud with Chester Council has been going on for 13 years,

but it could be about to end.

It's escalated and escalated over the years

because he's maintained his unwillingness

to do anything to mitigate

the harm that he's caused, and, similarly,

the council has been unwilling to let the matter drop.

There will have to be some kind of resolution, one way or another.

It's really just whether that involves

his cooperation or otherwise.

When the floodwaters subside, Peter's off to the civil courts

to see if he can reach a settlement with the council's lawyers.

For Peter, it's about much more than just planning.

It's an English trait, isn't it, to triumph against adversity?

I mean, Scott to the Antarctic, Hunt up the Himalayas.

You know, there's so much of English heritage and English history

based in people triumphing against adversity.

If I triumph against Chester - I don't think I will -

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

and expose them for what they are -

an evil bunch of bureaucrats.

The rules are there for a reason

and the enforcement notices were upheld by inspectors.

They've also been through court, and judges have agreed

with the stance that the council has taken,

so we're completely correct in the approach to this particular case.

We can't just let matters drop

because they become complicated or long-winded.

We don't like serving notices

and we don't like sending the bulldozers in,

but we have to have teeth.

The court hearing takes 40 minutes.

Peter is told by the judge to enter arbitration with the council

and find a way to repay the money

and restore the ground around Heron Lodge.

The judge ordered that there should be, in the first,

an attempt to negotiate a settlement to the matter,

so we can get round the table and talk.

Hopefully, this'll be the start of the end, if that's the right phrase.

I don't know. I'm hoping so.

One way or another, sooner rather than later,

Mr Johnson is going to have to comply.

Hopefully, we can do that through cooperation and negotiation,

but if that's not possible, then, yes, we will have to consider

perhaps more drastic options for achieving compliance.

But it will have to happen.

In Cheltenham, the planning committee has arrived

at the site of the badger sett

where developers want to build nine houses.

They're going to be quite a challenge to visualise

through this lot, isn't it?

The plot is unused land at the end of people's gardens.

There's a sett there and a sett there.

That X marks a sett. These are outlier setts.

This is the main sett. It's the main sett that will be kept.

The land may be overgrown,

but it's an ideal site for the family of badgers

that make regular trips into their neighbours' gardens.

-They're going to close one of those two setts...

-And keep them...?

..and then reopen that one and this one remains open.

-Are they legally able...?

-So, this is the principal...

Yes, absolutely. This is badger legislation.

-OK.

-Wildlife legislation.

-I know.

-A very, very strict procedure.

We've got six members of the planning committee.

-If you want to come through...

-OK. Would you like to follow me?

Roger Malvern and some of the other neighbours

regularly feed the badgers.

He's hoping videos of the badgers will persuade the councillors

to veto the housing plans.

Can I break ranks and ask what you feed them on?

-Oh, just some birds nuts.

-Ah.

-We just throw out a few.

Cos we threw out a few for the birds and along came the badgers!

The planning officers support the scheme,

but the final decision will be made by the 11 elected councillors.

Well, I'm pleased that the setts are going to be protected

and I'm sure the badgers are.

I'm torn two ways.

I have to say, it was so difficult to see anything there.

at the moment, it's a natural wilderness

and anything you do there is going to disturb the balance

of the wildlife there.

In all honesty, I'm heavily into animal protection

first and foremost, but this is a planning application,

so everything has to be taken into account.

Opponents of the developers also claim

the scheme will affect traffic and involve the loss of green space,

but it's the badgers that are their main concern.

Well, I've been doing as much research as I can

in relation to which areas this application fails to satisfy,

and it seems to me there are quite a few.

I believe in justice and democracy and fairness.

The council turned down an application,

somewhat similar to this one, four years ago.

I can see no reason why they shouldn't do it again.

With a speech prepared, Peter will present his arguments

to the members of the planning committee.

They will have the final say on the development.

Thank you, members.

I ask Mr Peter Christensen to speak in objection.

Does this thing turn on or...?

-Just there.

-Thank you. Is that better?

You have three minutes, Mr Christensen.

The plot has an active badger sett

and the measures in the proposed plan for protecting badgers

do not appear sufficient.

There are many other species of wildlife present on the site,

and also traffic, and health and safety,

are further serious issues.

We therefore urge the committee to refuse this application.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

I'll now ask Mr Simon Firkins to speak in support of the application.

Thank you, chairman, members.

This proposal does not result in undue harm to on-site ecology,

neighbouring amenity, highway safety,

or the character of the locality.

Much of the site is unkempt

and it is good to make use of these sites within the town,

rather than building on greenfield sites elsewhere.

I'm afraid I can't see that there's any justifiable reason

for refusing consent

and I therefore ask you to support the recommendation

and grant permission. Thank you for your time.

Thank you very much. I'll ask Councillor McLain to address us.

The local councillor has decided to speak against the development

on the grounds that gardens should not be taken for housing.

I mean, I've heard it just said

that by permitting these garden-grab developments -

this one in particular -

we will somehow reduce the pressure of new housing numbers.

I mean, that is simply, clearly, demonstrably, palpably rubbish.

All it will guarantee is the sacrifice

of our few remaining urban green heartlands.

If this development goes ahead, it will be irrevocably lost.

But before the vote, the meeting is postponed

for more environmental impact reports.

That is deferred to get further advice

from the Environment Agency. Thank you.

We may not like it,

we may not think it's the best development in the world,

but there's isn't a valid reason to turn it down, as I can see.

The reports show no evidence of further harm,

so when everyone returns, it's straight down to the vote.

All those in favour of permit.

That is unanimous. Thank you.

The plans are passed unanimously.

-Well done, Peter. Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

The gardens are gone.

The badgers will lose some of their setts,

but they will be protected in law.

They didn't seem to be interested in the wildlife aspect at all.

You know, we have very few green spaces,

and just to ignore that seems, to me, quite shocking.

I was happy that the badgers will coexist with the development.

I think the ecological appraisal demonstrated that very clearly.

I think that one has been resolved.

When you turn round that corner,

my God, it just looks as though there's a funeral.

-Yeah, I just said that.

-Yeah, just black.

It's the day of judgment in Lach Dennis and Lostock Green.

Well, we think we should give them a taste of what's to come for us.

CAR HORN HONKS

The villagers are dressing in black

to attend the planning committee meeting

that will decide whether to build a private crematorium

in a nearby field.

Thank you so much. Bless you for that.

Now we're on the way,

I'd say more buoyed than we were in the last week.

We just have to go with it and see what happens.

If common sense prevails, it will be turned down.

But as soon as they arrive at Winsford Council Chamber,

they run into a problem.

We were coming with a 57-seater bus with all our supporters

who have supported us through thick and thin over the last six months

and now we've just been told they can't go in.

-We're told that there's only room for five.

-Five people!

Months and months of hard work has gone into this.

-Absolutely ridiculous.

-We need to have the presence there

to show the councillors what the support is.

I am fizzing mad.

With so many protesters,

council staff change the order of the meeting and create enough room

for the villagers to make their presence felt.

So, she said, "Open the doors and come in."

It's extremely difficult for local people.

They very much want to convince

that they are right

and that decisions should be made according to their views.

Judith has recommended the plans be approved,

but the councillors have the power to go against her opinion.

I think they feel that a committee may be more democratic

because they have elected councillors to represent them,

therefore, they feel that

the councillors should take account of their views

and that that should perhaps sometimes override

the objectiveness of planning policy.

I welcome you all to this meeting of

the Cheshire West and Chester Strategic Planning Committee.

First, the objectors get their chance.

The planning officer's report suggests this development

will not cause unacceptable harm.

By definition, this means it will cause acceptable harm.

How can anyone truly judge what is acceptable harm,

other than the village residents themselves?

We are not against change in our locality,

but it has to be change for the benefit of the local community,

rather than an out-of-area developer.

This is about a development

to which most residents strongly object.

We hope that you agree with us and reject this application.

-Thank you for listening.

-Thank you very much indeed.

Next, it's the turn of developers Memoria.

They've spent over £100,000 on the application.

Past experience has taught us

that this level of opposition is not uncommon,

given the perception of crematoria development in this country.

However, in all of our previous applications,

if we've been given the right to go ahead,

we've never received one letter of objection from the local community.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

With our beautiful gardens and landscaping,

we've found that we've become a source of pride for the local area.

There'll be no smoke, no smell,

and the visual impact with the landscaping plan will be minimal,

but the benefit to the wider community will be significant.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

Right, I open it up to debate from committee members.

Now it's down to the councillors to make up their minds.

Thank you, chairman.

They need to balance the planners' recommendation

with the views of the villagers.

It's a very emotive and emotional issue, this,

because it's people's lives and it's people's villages.

To be honest, I've looked really carefully at this application

and I can't find a really good planning reason

for rejecting this application, chairman.

I'll just rest my case at that.

There are not sufficient good reasons

to overturn policy and lose good agricultural land.

This is not a service that can only be met at that site,

therefore I move that we refuse this application. Thank you.

-I'll second that.

-APPLAUSE

After an hour's debate,

the councillors vote on a proposal to refuse the application,

on the grounds that it's inappropriate on agricultural land.

Right, it's been proposed and seconded

that this application be refused.

All those in favour, please show.

Any against?

Two. Seven-two.

So, the application is refused for the reason...

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Yes! People power!

That's what it's all about - people power. Fantastic!

It's disappointing. Very disappointing.

We, obviously, on the back of a very strong planning report,

were expecting for the committee to support that.

We will have to have another look,

and if that leads us to an appeal,

then we will have to go down that road.

That was the best outcome ever.

And I know there'll probably be an appeal,

but we'll be ready for them.

I thought the right decision was made on this occasion.

I think the access is not very good

and I think they need to come back with some modifications

to the planning application.

News of the victory soon reaches the village.

That's like Crewe versus Manchester United, isn't it?

Crewe win seven-two.

If you want to influence the council,

-dress up in black.

-HE CHUCKLES

Hedgehog, flat.

Next time on The Planners...

The first one will be in this field. It starts there and it runs

in a straight line of four parallel to the railway line.

..a former New Age traveller's dream for a greener future

is a castle-owner's nightmare...

I wake up in the night, screaming my head off,

and my wife says, "What's the matter?"

"Wind turbines!" I say.

..double the trouble for the businessman

who wants to extend his cafe...

We think they've chosen to lose the plot.

..and a stairway to nowhere leaves these homeowners frustrated.

-The builders advertised it as gently sloping rear gardens, yeah?

-Yeah.