The wait for a decision on plans for a multi-million-pound surf lagoon is “blighting” residents’ lives, an MP has said.
Christchurch MP Sir Christopher Chope said the “indecision and uncertainty” over the proposal in St Leonards was “frustrating”.
Developer W. H. White tabled plans for the land south east of the A31 either side of Brocks Pine and Avon Heath Country Park back in November 2021.
This submission for the surf lagoon and leisure complex came after the applicant carried out its own consultations and engagement events in the community.
Seventeen months on and Dorset Council is yet to make a decision on the application, which is expected to go before the local authority’s planning committee.
A fresh round of public consultation was opened on April 3 as amendments and revisions have been made to the scheme.
Sir Christopher, whose constituency includes the application site, has questioned the government in recent months over the time being taken by statutory consultees to provide their comments on the scheme.
“It is frustrating not just for me but significantly for the residents who could be affected by the application,” Sir Christopher said.
“It is blighting the lives of all the residents because of the indecision and uncertainty. It is the job of the planning authority to say yes or not but they have been playing off National Highways and Natural England, saying they have been waiting for those statutory bodies.
“The purpose of my questions has been to try to establish whether those statutory bodies have a veto over the decision and the answer is they do not.
The former minister said he had spoken with representatives from St Leonards and St Ives Parish Council, who had expressed their frustrations.
Sir Christopher described the situation as “most unsatisfactory”. He submitted his questions to the government before the council opened the new round of consultation.
As reported, W. H. White said it has been working with council officers and statutory consultees since the application was first tabled to respond to queries.
Revised plans and additional supporting information have been submitted and the description of the proposed development has been amended.
This has led to the latest round of publication consultation, which closes on April 30, with the application viewable on Dorset Council’s planning portal.
More than 1,000 people have already had their say with hundreds supporting the scheme but the majority tabling objections.
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