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Arsenal parking row: ‘It’s not all over yet’ warning
ARSENAL has been warned that controversial coach parking rights secured under a three-year deal could face further scrutiny next May.
Earlier this year, Islington Council’s east area planning committee rejected the club’s bid to continue to park coaches at the Sobell Centre, Hornsey Road and Drayton Park. But Arsenal went on to win an appeal at a public inquiry in August, unopposed by the council. The order not to oppose the appeal was given by Town Hall chief executive John Foster.
But this week Labour councillor Phil Kelly, who chairs east area planning committee, warned: “After the election we will look at it again. I’m not sure what we can do so I don’t want to raise hopes yet.” Lib Dem council leader Councillor Terry Stacy has defended the decision to allow the club’s appeal to go ahead unopposed, saying that Arsenal had revised its application. “As this mirrored the decision taken at east area planning, there was no longer a substantive case for the council to pursue through the appeal process,” he added.
“In light of this and the fact there was only one working day remaining before the appeal commenced, the chief executive took the decision under exceptional circumstances not to contest the remaining appeal.”
He maintained the end result was “probably as good an outcome as we could have hoped for”.
But Cllr Kelly said the Town Hall’s actions “undermined” the planning committee’s intention to force Arsenal to come up with a satisfactory permanent solution to the problem. “This has actually placed residents in a worse position,” he added. |
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