Xscape: Casino plan a winner
New venue passes first stage of approval leaving protest group disappointed
Xscape boss PY Gerbeau remains confident he is backing a winner with his hotel and casino plan – despite a second desperate struggle to get the proposal over its first hurdle.
Milton Keynes Council development control committee has granted outline planning permission on the strength of the casting vote of a stand-in chairman.
Full-time committee leader Councillor Catriona Morris would have given the project the thumbs down.
But she excluded herself from the critical vote as a known objector and instead spoke out against the scheme on behalf of residents in her Linford South ward.
The committee rejected a member's plea to defer a decision and snubbed toplevel advice from government architecture advisor CABE that the application was "not robust enough" to guarantee a "quality development" and should be revised.
Xscape has already revised the scheme following the council's earlier shelving of a committee decision giving the go-ahead.
Monday's approval is roulette-table deep with conditions Xscape must meet on traffic flow, parking, pedestrian access and the layout of the complex on Avebury Boulevard.
But Mr Gerbeau hailed it as a "positive step" forward.
He said: "There is still a lot of work to do and it is great to be able to move forward to the next stage, working closely with the city, council, the public and the various interest groups to create the very best development for Milton Keynes.
"We are passionate about Milton Keynes as a top leisure destination."
But protest group Xplain spokesman Linda Inoki said: "It is disappointing.
"We would much rather the council had voted to throw it out.
"But we have got pubic support going now for our campaign to do something better on this site."
Councillor Morris said she suspected Xscape would claim the committee decision as a "great victory".
"I hope their response will be that they will work harder with the residents to develop a plan that is acceptable to all of us."
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Friday 25 May 2012
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