Sutton Council’s Development Control Committee strongly supported an appeal by Richard, at its meeting on 22 May, for stronger powers to be available to planning authorities to enforce planning decisions.

The Committee held a general discussion of the planning history of St. Jude’s nursing home in Mayfield Road, triggered by the latest planning application.

Richard pointed out to the Committee that there had been a succession of structures built in the small garden of the nursing home without the owner bothering to observe the requirements to apply in advance for planning permission. Some were still not in compliance with the planning permission obtained.

He argued that the basic problem was that planning law is weak in terms of the tools for enforcement provided to the authority, in contrast to the field he used to work in, health and safety, where enforcement can be direct and immediate. As a result it seems to residents that the developer acts with impunity and nothing is done. Enforcement is a slow process with numerous opportunities for appeals and delay available to the developer.

He mentioned to the Committee that, when elected in 2010, he arranged some meetings between the owner and local residents, which seemed to improve the atmosphere locally for a time. He was personally very disappointed that these had not sorted out the problems.

However, the Committee decided, with evident reluctance, that with regard to the particular small modification to an already extended building that was the subject of this particular application before them, there were no sound planning grounds to refuse it.