At its meeting this week Bedford Borough Council’s Planning Committee approved a planning application from Bedford Free School for a new rooftop sports hall.
The meeting, however, descended into farce when the Committee’s Liberal Democrat and Labour councillors initially voted to refuse the application. When challenged by planning officers to provide valid planning reasons for their decision they could offer none. A re-vote was subsequently allowed and the application was approved.
The conduct of the Liberal Democrat and Labour councillors has left them open to accusations that their political opposition to free schools overrode planning considerations and indeed the significant benefit this facility would have for the school’s pupils.
In 2010 the Council’s Liberal Democrat and Labour administration agreed a hostile policy towards free schools. The Bedford Free School also had to fight just to come into existence after Labour and Liberal Democrat Planning Committee members rejected it on spurious road safety grounds against the advice of planning officers. The school subsequently won an appeal, with the costs paid for by the Council.
Cllr Roger Rigby, who attended the meeting, said:
‘The approval of the Bedford Free School rooftop sports hall was a triumph for the children over Liberal Democrat and Labour party political dogma against free schools. Their Planning Committee members’ resistance collapsed after they initially voted down the recommendation from planning officers to approve the application but failed to come up with valid planning reasons to back up their decision.
‘After a dressing down by planning officers the recommendation for approval was retaken and the application was this time approved. Common sense defeated party political dogma and the children can at last benefit from a fantastic new facility.’