The campaign group ‘Save Westridge Farm’ is considering a judicial review after the controversial decision was made earlier in the week to build on the green fields.
On Tuesday, the Isle of Wight Council’s planning committee gave the green light to the 473-home West Acre Park scheme.
Now, posting on its Facebook page, the campaign group, which tried to protect the farm and its tenant farmers the Holliday family, has hit out at acting chair of the planning committee Cllr Geoff Brodie for siding with three Conservative councillors and ‘selling out centuries of Island rural community’.
The group said:
“Together, the four forced the closure of Westridge Farm, the last dairy farm in [the] east Wight.
“In one foul act of Island betrayal, they join developers in stealing from current and future generations the ability to provide local food and experience caring for nature; of being responsible for the destruction of precious habitat; of endangered species; of killing generations of farming knowledge and caring stewardship of precious habitat.”
They said Cllr Brodie, a member of the ruling Alliance Group, ‘showed his true colours’.
However, speaking at the planning meeting earlier in the week, Cllr Brodie said it was one of the most difficult applications he had seen in his years on the committee.
He said: “When you are on planning it is always making this balanced judgment … It is not something I take any pleasure in saying but sometimes on planning you have to do the right thing.”
As chair, Cllr Brodie said he was comfortable with any proposal that came forward to refuse the application but that it had to be sustainable and defensible, based on material planning conditions, and that he was not hearing anything extraordinary.
Following the decision, the group suggested it will seek a judicial review to try to overturn the judgement.
It said a judicial review should have already happened in 2017 after permission was granted to build 80 houses on part of the farm but were now thinking of going down that route.
Cllr Michael Lilley, local ward representative, has said he will help residents take the decision to a judicial review.
Cllr Lilley, having stepped down as chair and a member of the committee, for the meeting, said he was advised not to speak at the planning meeting but believed a concerted effort was made to stop him properly representing his ward.
The campaign group supported Cllr Lilley saying in their post he was prevented from speaking in person or via video link.
Responding to some of the backlash the council has faced since making the decision, Cllr Paul Fuller, the cabinet member for planning said the authority did not have adequate planning policies which meant there is a requirement for the council to follow the presumption in favour of sustainable development.
Cllr Fuller said the role of councillors is made very difficult when making planning decisions due to the failings to meet housing targets.
He said: “During the debate about the West Acre decision, it was clear that councillors who were deeply concerned about the proposal did not feel they had the right tools to challenge proposals.”
Isle of Wight MP, Bob Seely who had previously voiced his objections to the major Ryde development said he disagrees with the decision but thanked councillors who tried to find the grounds to object.
Mr Seely said:
“It is clear that we need to prepare the Island Plan as urgently as possible because we need to have more power to block developers and their agents doing lasting damage to the Island, against the wishes of communities.
“We need housing, but in modest numbers, for Islanders, in towns and on brownfield sites. What we do not need is unsustainable, car-dependent, low density, urban sprawl around our towns, of which Westridge is a prime example, which does permanent and lasting harm to our environment.
“I will be talking to councillors and officers about potential next steps. We cannot normalise low-density greenfield development.”
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