Rap for parish council in Milton Keynes over no-show at online planning meeting

Some members of Milton Keynes Council’s development control committee were all for putting a bad mark against the name of Kents Hill and Monkston Parish Council who were concerned about an extension and garage conversion.

The parish, and ward councillor Jenni Ferrans (Lib Dem, Monkston), had raised suspicions that the householders in Eridge Green, Kents Hill, were creating a separate dwelling.

Cllr Terry Baines (Cons, Campbell Park & Old Woughton) said: “It is up to the parish council to notify this council they intend to speak. They said they would, therefore it is one strike against that council as per our regulations.”

But chairman Cllr John Bint (Cons, Broughton) said he wanted to see if there were mitigating circumstances given the coronavirus outbreak.

He added: “This is also a parish council that is coming out of a period of some internal difficulties, and I’m not sure I’d want to hold something that may be a historic issue.”

But Cllr Andrew Geary (Cons, Newport North & Hanslope) said he was “a bit miffed” about the no-show.

And he did not want to give other parish councils the ability to get out of their commitments.

But Cllr Bint held firm and said he wanted the committee to “look favourably on the parish if they came back with another issue in the future”.

Tracy Darke, MK Council’s director of growth, economy and culture, said the extension could only be accessed through the front of the house.

And, she added, if the householders wanted to turn it into a separate home, they would have to submit another planning application.

Kents Hill & Monkston Parish Council was also given the opportunity to withdraw the concern, but “they didn’t come back to us,” she said.

The parish council was invited by the Local Democracy Reporting Service to say what they did not attend, but there was no reply at the time of going to press.

And, for the record, councillors at last week’s meeting of the development control committee granted permission for the extension and conversion.