Labour would buy back the Howard Mallett Site

29 January 2008

Labour city councillors want the City Council to set aside £700,000 to buy the old Howard Mallet site, in Sturton St, from City Life. They believe City Life no longer want to set up an Innovation Centre there, because of opposition from local residents; and that this presents the City Council with an opportunity to enable the local community to have what they have sought - additional open space. So far the Liberal Democrats have refused to do so.

Controversy has surrounded the site ever since the County Council handed over the building to Dawe Media in 1998.  Petersfield Area Community Trust (PACT) was set up by local residents to contest that handover; and when in 2006 Dave Media decided they did not want to retain their interest in the site, PACT sought to have it returned to open space, by submitting a planning application to that effect on a part of the site which had remained undeveloped.

The County Council preferred to make an agreement with the City Life charity, who proposed to pull the building down and build an Innovation Centre.  The City Council approved their planning application to achieve this, but that decision was overturned in the High Court partly on the grounds that the Council should not have ignored the prior decision to retain open space on the site.

Council Planning Officers recently proposed that the new application to build should be approved despite the High Court judgement, because they did not believe  'there is any significant likelihood' of the open space being retained by the owners'.

Petersfield Labour councillor Ben Bradnack challenged that judgement, and wrote to the Committee:

'The City Labour Group last year proposed that £400, 000 should be used to purchase land from City Life.  This year, Labour's budget will include a sum of almost double that amount, which City Life believe is a realistic bid to enable the City Council to purchase a portion of the site from City Life, including that on which the building currently stands, and that part of the site which is the subject of the High Court judgement about the existing consent for open space.  This bid, if successful, would enable City Life potentially to recoup their costs by developing the remainder (that is, the north end) of the site, while moving their activities elsewhere'.

Councillor Bradnack said:

"I hope members of the committee will recognize how badly they are being advised by officers, and will draw back from giving consent to a proposal which flies in the face of what local people want".

Ben Bradnack
07739 031691

Note: The Planning Committee refused Citylife's application by 8:1 on 30.01.2008