The Inquiry Thursday 28th July The Inquiry started at 9.30 with a brief explanation from the Inspector of what he had seen and where he had been on Wednesday (Day 6). It then moved on to a brief discussion about proposed conditions and the 106 Obligations should one or both of the appeals succeed. Of particular importance to the schooling issue was the announcement from Catesby that it had agreement with the relevant Derbyshire County Council officer that if Ecclesbourne refu

The Inquiry Tuesday 26th July Today was the opportunity for local residents to express their views directly to the Inspector Mr Gray and the response was impressive. Ten residents put forward a variety of reasons why neither appeal should succeed. The range of topics discussed was diverse but the presentations were uniformly of the highest quality. It would be invidious to name all the individuals who spoke but a special mention should be made for Councillor Roy Webb who has

The Inquiry Friday 22nd July2016 Starting at 9.30 the Inquiry concentrated on the evidence presented by Andrew Crutchley who is Catesby’s heritage spokesperson. Visitors who were not aware of the background to these appeals would not have realised that they related to planning applications for 400 and 195 houses because that was rarely mentioned. Instead those that did attend would have learned a great deal about the historical evolution of Kedleston Hall, the Conservation Ar

The Inquiry Thursday 21st July This third day of the Inquiry opened at 9.30 as will tomorrow’s session. Yesterday we finished with the evidence of Christopher Gallagher so today it was the turn of Stephen Levrant to offer evidence in support of our heritage case. Stephen is a chartered architect specialising in historic buildings and conservation. He was made a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1977 and has been a member of the Institute of Historic Build

The Inquiry Wednesday 20th July It opened at 9.30. Mel Morris was still being cross examined by Rupert Warren QC and that continued for another hour and twenty minutes with much discussion about the significance of the heritage assets involved in this case- the Hall, the Registered Park and Garden and the Conservation Area- and their settings. A continuing theme for the day was the importance of the Derby Screen- a row of trees which obscures views of the Hall from the appeal

The Inquiry Tuesday 19th July 2016. It opened at 10.00 am with the Inspector, John Gray explaining that he was an architect by profession and that he had been appointed by the Secretary of State to determine the two appeals. Later in the day he indicated that although both appeals were for “up to” 400 and 195 houses he was going to determine the appeals as though they were the numbers of dwellings applied for and not consider the impact lesser numbers might have. Approximatel

The Inquiry Programme. Wednesday 20th July The Inquiry will resume at 9.30 am. First on the witness stand will be Amber Valley’s conservation specialist Mel Morris who is part way through cross examination by Catesby’s QC Rupert Warren. Then there will be Derek Stafford speaking on planning for the Borough Council. At some time during the afternoon our barrister specialising in Heritage matters, Jack Smyth, will be able to put our first witness forward. That will be Christoph

Allestree and Quarndon Residents Eagerly Await the Outcome of the Kedleston Road Planning Inquiry The long awaited Public Inquiry that will decide the fate of the heritage land adjacent to Kedleston Road in Allestree commences tomorrow (19 July 2016) at the Alfreton Leisure Centre. The inquiry follows the refusal of outline planning permission to build 400 houses on the historic setting of Kedleston Hall by Amber Valley Borough Council. This decision was welcomed by many resi

The appointed Inspector, Mr John L Gray, has given some preliminary indications on the way he sees the Inquiry being run. Obviously nothing will be finalised until the Inquiry is opened at 10.00 on Tuesday 19th July 2016 but this is how things stand on the 13th July. Please remember that if you wish to speak you must attend the first session to register your intention to do so on one of the days of the Inquiry. Mr Gray is following the normal procedure for Inquiries in that A