Quote ="coco the fullback"Thanks I_A.
Will this happen despite the otters/water voles? Don't they need to wait for the new ES before agreeing the timetable? or are you/they expecting that to be sorted by then?
The letter does suggest a fortnight max to get back to them.
The cheque for your consultancy work is in the post.'"
I think the time frame they do suggest will have to allow time for a new ES to be prepared but I am not sure that it something that is going to take months to sort out and it just an extra job to add to others they would need to do before the public hearings. One or two of the usual suspects are making a big thing about this letter but it does not say anything that as not already been said (in fact, almost word for word!) in West Yorkshire Ecology's statutory responses.
It was always very possible that this would rear it's head again, because what WYE is saying is that in their opinion the scheme needs to make more concessions to specific habitats for Otters and Voles. Given that they probably do know more about these things than most, then you probably have to reach a compromise with them and then they will go away and be happy (to an extent... they are environmentalist, like everyone else, their view is biased towards their area of interest).
The Regional Government office is, if I understand correctly, now just like any other statutory body, so he has given his opinion on the ES and is requesting more information. He can't dictate anything as it is now in the independent hands of the Planning Inspectorate, but of course his opinion carries more weight. The strong nature of the letter also leads me to speculate that maybe our LEEDS based government official is also carrying a more biased view than normal and even may be under pressure from outside influences... this is pure speculation, but I am also a little surprised it has taken him till now to acknowledge the reading of the report... why did he not read it when he was supposed to, back in October/November/December?
If I was project managing this for Yorkcourt I would be arranging a workshop day with WYE, the design team and Wakefield planners (as they clearly do think the layout is suitable) and just getting WYE to tell me exactly what they wanted to do and change to make the scheme work for them. They of course will want the moon on a stick, but they would, but then that starts the compromise process and hopefully they can at least reach a point where WYE are most probably (as they always are) reluctantly forced to concede to a suitable scheme.
Objectors cling to the fact that when statutory bodies object to scheme they point to them as evidence that as these 'experts' must be acknowledged 100% and therefore it proves that a site should never be developed. However, they know what the law says and they know that their role is to get the best possible compromise, yes, WYE have strong opinions but they have a duty to work with the developer to resolve them not just continue to stand in the way regardless.
