A residents' association trying to stop a multi-sports facility being built in the grounds of a Kingsbury secondary has criticised a council's consultation process.
Roe Green Village Residents’ Association believes the consultation process run by Brent Council has been flawed by giving inadequate notification to residents and a poor website facility to leave public comments.
The association further claimed they had a "frustrating lack of communication" with Brent's planners and said the experience had given them cause for concern of a "lack of core capabilities" of the council's planning department.
Debbie Nyman, vice chairman, said: "This planning application has given rise to speculation that it has been rubber stamped from the start.
"The Roe Green Village Residents’ Association believes that Brent’s planning department is not currently fit for purpose and this application should be wholly abandoned."
Powerleague and Kingsbury High School announced in January they had teamed up to deliver a scheme including an 11-a-side football or hockey pitch, a multi-sport pitch, four standard small-sided pitches and two cricket nets at the secondary's Bacon Lane campus.
But neighbours of the school said the development was too big for the proposed location, that it did not fit in with the village's character and feared they would have to contend with unwanted noise and light pollution from the grounds during night hours.
Ms Nyman said these concerns had mounted after speaking to residents living near a similar Powerleague facility in Enfield who claim its made their lives a misery.
She said: "Not all residents of the village and surrounding areas received written notification of the plans being submitted, just a few houses and flats closest to the school site. A public notice was displayed long after the start of the consultation process with conflicting information about closing dates.
"The website has featured a permanent notice stating that ‘comments may not be submitted at this time’ confusing most people trying to use it; lack of acknowledgement for those who have written in by post.
"Key officers working on this application have been on leave during the consultation period; our calls have been met by either an answerphone or individuals not equipped to deal with any questions.
"Key personnel have left the planning department in recent months with no clarity on replacements and organisational structure.
"The Roe Green Village Residents’ Association submitted a 40-page document detailing numerous errors within 38 of the 41 planning documents submitted by Lucozade Powerleague. We have serious concerns that Lucozade Powerleague’s cookie cutter approach to planning their installations will be beyond the independent scrutineering capabilities of this planning department at this time."
Jodi Smith, Brent Council spokesman, said: "It’s important for local communities be able to express their opinions on planning applications that affect them.
“Our planning department is currently consulting on the Kingsbury High School planning application and wrote directly to 501 local residents to inform them of the plans. So far, the planning application has received over 200 comments.
“We are aware of error messages currently appearing on the online portal and are working with our supplier to get this resolved. However, users can be assured that the comment function is still working and they are still able to submit their comments online.”
“Once the consultation period is over, Planning Officers will then assess the proposals and the representations received as per due process, before the Planning Committee will determine the planning application on its merits at a meeting in due course.
“The Planning Committee is a quasi-judicial body that is separate from the Council and must determine each planning application on its own planning merits.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here