BOSCOMBE councillor George Farquhar who called in a planning application for a £9million Travis Perkins depot off Ashley Road has been criticised for not coming to committee to make his case.

Planning chair Cllr David Kelsey ruled out a written submission from Cllr Farquhar, claiming it had only been received at 3am on the day of the meeting.

He told other councillors at the Thursday BCP planning meeting that he would not allow members of the public late submissions and he saw no reason to allow councillors to break the deadline rules.

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He said Cllr Farquhar, who represents Boscombe East and Pokesdown for Labour, should have come to committee to make his case, or if unavoidable, make a written submission in adequate time.

“Cllr Farquhar, who is a member of this planning board, decided it was better in his interests, not to be here today and go campaigning for his local party, so that is what he is doing. He did submit a statement, but that statement arrived at three o’clock this morning.

“I have chosen, as chair, to not have that statement read out…if members want to call items in they should have the courtesy to turn up, or put statements in on time,” said Cllr Kelsey.

Fellow ward councillor, Andy Jones, had also requested the application to be called in for a committee decision, but had withdrawn his request.

Cllr Farquhar said after the meeting that he had received comments that the committee chairman had been “scoring cheap political points.”

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He said he had been asked to withdraw his objections by Cllr Kelsey after Cllr Jones had withdrawn his, but said he wished to continue and would submit a statement as he would be travelling on the day:  “It was unfortunate that as the chair, Cllr Kelsey chose to make the remarks he did and his view on why I was absent. Personally I think he has diminished the Office of the Chair by politicising his remarks…When I submitted the statement I did so in case I was traveling and could not speak in person, virtually via Teams at the meeting, and asked if the chair would consider granting that they be read out, particularly since I was representing the Chair of the local Boscombe Community Forum not myself. “

The committee approved the application for the former coalyard site off Ashley Road and North Road. It has been derelict for 25 years, apart from intermittent, sometimes illegal, uses.

A planning application for houses in 2018 was given the go ahead but failed to materialise.

Councillors heard that the project would create jobs for the construction phase and protect 25 jobs when the company moved from its site in Windham Road, which it recognised as being unsuitable.

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Said a statement from planning agents for the builders’ merchant: “The site will be comprehensively redeveloped to facilitate a new layout, introduce safer vehicle movements and construct a new, modern commercial unit that will meet TP’s current and future operational requirements.”

Part of the conditions will be to pause HGV movements at peak school times and to create a one-way system for traffic within the site, with a new entrance 30metres south of the existing access on the junction between the two roads.

Cllr Jones and Farquhar made the formal request for the case to be called in on grounds of a potential risk to public safety from HGV and commercial van traffic close to the King’s Park Academy, together with the loss of residents’ parking in North Road.

Concerns expressed at committee included a potential traffic conflict at school times and the loss of 55 protected trees, to be replaced by 14 new trees on the Ashley Road side and 10 along North Road – an overall loss of 33 trees which planning officers said could be considered acceptable given the benefits of making use of a long-standing derelict site.

Said Cllr Bob Lawton: “I welcome this. It has been a complete eyesore for a number of years. We have tried to get others to build on the site, but failed…it will help with the regeneration of the Boscombe area.”

One of the conditions of the planning consent is to protect the access to Boscombe Railway Station which was closed in 1965. Although there are no firm plans Network Rail has said that there are “aspirations to re-open” the railway station and wants to keep all options  open.