Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council’s (SMBC) planning committee will be asked to make a decision on the plan tomorrow night. The Silhillian will report the news as soon as possible on Twitter.
The meeting starts at 4.30pm in the council chamber, next to Touchwood, but the Sainsbury’s plan will not be heard until 6pm at the earliest, the council said.
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Mr Spencer, who has backed the controversial plan for Forest Court, said councillors had little evidence to reject the scheme.
He wrote on The Silhillian: “The committee will be very nervous and will feel that they can only take a decision based on evidence.”
Council staff have put in “a lot of effort” to check data supplied by Sainsbury’s around issues such as traffic predictions, he said.
He said national planning guidance is “not a lot of help” in determining an appropriate store size. The Sainsbury’s sales area would be almost four times the size of Knowle Tesco.
Mr Spencer also said there is a “big hole in policy” which means the council cannot order Sainsbury’s to provide more car parking than the 175 proposed.
Expert reports commissioned by the DDRA showed there is “not a case to be made on traffic levels, the road system has the capacity to support the store”.
He said: “That is not to say that there wouldn't be a noticeable increase in traffic, but the committee would need convincing evidence that the traffic increase would be unacceptable.
“I couldn't find numbers that supported that, aside from the change to Sundays.”
Controversial moves by the Government to make planning permission approval the default option of “sustainable” plans carries “significant weight” he said.
He said: “‘I don't like it’ is not grounds for SMBC to reject - SMBC need solid facts to work with.”
If numbers are not produced that conflict with Sainsbury’s then councillors “aren't going to be able to reject it without feeling that they are taking a massive gamble”.
Sainsbury’s can appeal to the national Planning Inspectorate if the plan is rejected. If it then wins, the council could have to pay with the firm’s legal bills.
While Mr Spencer said he is “not fond at all of supermarkets” the “reality is that however much we may moan about them, the nation has voted with their feet and use supermarkets”
He said in another post: “It is easy to demonise Sainsbury’s and be cynical about their approach, but they’ve been pretty straight with us, and whenever they have been challenged, they have listened and reviewed.”
Mr Spencer said: “We are more confident that the scheme will work.”
In a statement to The Silhillian, Meriden MP Caroline Spelman said: ““I agree with many that Forest Court needs intervention to breathe new life into the village centre but I also agree that any development should take into account the nature of the village and allow for local businesses to thrive.
“There are strong feelings both for and against the proposed store and so I await the planning committee’s decision with great interest.”
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Sainsbury’s can appeal to the national Planning Inspectorate if the plan is rejected. If it then wins, the council could have to pay with the firm’s legal bills.
While Mr Spencer said he is “not fond at all of supermarkets” the “reality is that however much we may moan about them, the nation has voted with their feet and use supermarkets”
He said in another post: “It is easy to demonise Sainsbury’s and be cynical about their approach, but they’ve been pretty straight with us, and whenever they have been challenged, they have listened and reviewed.”
Mr Spencer said: “We are more confident that the scheme will work.”
In a statement to The Silhillian, Meriden MP Caroline Spelman said: ““I agree with many that Forest Court needs intervention to breathe new life into the village centre but I also agree that any development should take into account the nature of the village and allow for local businesses to thrive.
“There are strong feelings both for and against the proposed store and so I await the planning committee’s decision with great interest.”
What do you think? Leave your comments below. No registration required. Posts must abide by the terms and conditions. Report comments at news@thesilhillian.co.uk.
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