The latest planning application for 7-9 Cavendish Road, for demolition of the building and erection of a block of 16 flats, was turned down by the Council. The Planning Inspectorate, on appeal, has overturned the Council’s decision.

The main objection was that the design of the building – with sixteen small flats crammed in – was unsympathetic to the pleasant, green, suburban character of the road.

The developers appealed to the Planning Inspectorate in Bristol against the decision. On 9 January Richard attended a hearing on the appeal conducted by the Planning Inspectorate, and spoke up for the interests of local residents. Richard helped the previous owner get permission for the change of use of the building from being a care home, when the care home closed, to being a residential property, as the owner said she intended to live in it. He also helped her get Sutton Housing Partnership to repair the fence at the back.

We regret that the national planning system allows developers to bypass local democracy and appeal to this remote body, whose decision is final.