So, finally, the appeal process around the Coughtrey estate has concluded. Originally set for the aborted date in February, when it was rescheduled to 8 April in a larger venue, it was so strongly opposed that the Inspector had to take both allotted days.
We appreciate that it may have been frustrating to hear many of our complaints not aired, but that is because the planning appeal process has a very narrow focus; only the actual refusal decision and the reasoning behind it is debated. This means that many of the issues some of you expected to hear raised were precluded.
The current unlawful use of the site being undertaken on the site already, with the smell, noise and traffic nuisances falls under Statutory Nuisance, not the planning appeal. It’s not even taken into account as an indicator of how bad it will eventually be, because that is rightly taken to be speculation. The safety issue around the potential for the factory fire in Attleborough to occur in Griston was simply outside the appeal scope and so didn’t feature.
We did manage to eventually discern from Eastern Attachments that the most important factor in their choice of Griston was the cost of installing a power supply; Snetterton or Attleborough would have cost more to have a new substation built, while Griston already had one.
Eventually, after being asked multiple times by the Planning Inspector, Breckland’s Case Officer conceded there was no current B2 use in place, but this concession was only made because the Secretary of State had stated there wasn’t, so they had to accept that decision.
Similarly, Breckland conceded that the application breached their own policy EC04 (Employment Development Outside General Employment Areas). This was vigorously pursued by the Inspector on both days, and these two points could be major factors in the Inspector’s final decision.
Overall, the Inspector gave us, as a third party to this appeal, a very fair opportunity to provide the additional necessary evidence to make her judgement.
It’s important to remember that the appeal itself was between Eastern Attachments and Breckland – the applicant and the Authority that refused the application – with Griston residents only a third party on the sidelines.
Collectively, the village gave it our best shot but it felt at times like we were playing the part of Zelenskyy to EA’s Putin and Breckland’s Trump; the actual effects will only be felt by us, but we weren’t really taking a full part in the conversation!
In the end, we got as good and fair a hearing as we could have hoped for. The Inspector pressured both Breckland’s team and Eastern Attachments for facts and details – most of which still seemed quite vague. The acoustic consultant especially for Eastern Attachments wasn’t in the least certain or convincing.
The fact it ran to two days shows just how complex the appeal was and how strong were the objections, something the Inspector acknowledged as she closed the proceedings. Less than 1% of appeals of this type need more than half a day, indicating how exceptional was our response to Eastern Attachments.
The Inspector concluded with a tour of the Coughtrey site facilities and of three properties surrounding the site, all accompanied by Eastern Attachments and their retinue, and representatives of Breckland, the Parish Council and the Griston Community Group.
The Inspector will now consider, and make her written decision over the next 12 weeks; it’s quite normal for a decision to be issued at around eight weeks.
Both the Parish Council and the Griston Community Group would like to thank everyone for your support given over the last three years, as well as for turning up in such numbers at the various Committee meetings and Appeal Hearings to show the strength of feeling.
Our next challenge is how to deal with either a positive or negative outcome; the Parish Council and Griston Community Group will meet with Breckland to discuss the practicalities of the site moving forward once the decision is issued.
