Council planners still to approve Christmas event three weeks after it started

Council planners have still not decided whether Stoke-on-Trent's Winter Wonderland can go ahead – three weeks after it started.
A planning application for the Christmas event in Hanley has not yet been determined by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, despite the fact that Winter Wonderland actually launched on November 22.
Staffordshire Police, one of various organisations consulted on the application, says the planning process has been 'essentially immaterial' in this case, as the force was only approached by the council 10 days after the event started.
Organiser Michelle Matthews, of Funderworld Events, blames council 'red tape' for the planning hold-up, saying that the application was submitted on October 7, which she believes should have given the authority enough time to make a decision.
Funderworld Events has been organising the Winter Wonderland event on Hanley's Birch Terrace car park since 2016, but Ms Matthews says that this year the council only confirmed that it could use the site in November. Winter Wonderland, which runs until January 5, features an ice skating rink, rides, a Santa's grotto, along with stalls and food and drink outlets.
Ms Matthews said: "We've been using this site for Winter Wonderland since 2016, and the event mirrors what's been done before. I'm not sure why we need to submit a new application every year, but that's what we do. We submitted the application on October 7, a full month before the council told us we could use the car park, as we knew we couldn't leave it any later. The council came back to us in November to chase up the application, but I had a confirmation that they received it in October.
"I agree that it's been a bit of a muddle. It was only because we already had everything in place from previous years that we were able to turn it around in time. I don't want to be too critical of the council, but red tape seems to be the problem. If things had been decided earlier it wouldn't be all last minute like this."
The consultation response from Staffordshire Police does not raise any major concerns with the application, but says it should have been submitted earlier so any issues could have been dealt with in time.
In his response, designing out crime officer David Elkington says: "In reality, this planning application is essentially immaterial. According to publicity materials, the event will be operating between November 22 and January 1 – it started more than 10 days before the planning application was sent out for consultation and is likely to finish before a decision on the planning application is made.
"It is noted that the planning application was not even received by the local authority October 7, less than seven weeks before the Winter Wonderland opened. Clearly there were delays between application submission, validation and it being sent out for consultation. Nevertheless, it seems indefensible on the part of the applicant for the planning application to be submitted at such a late date in the year."
Last year, the application for Winter Wonderland was submitted on September 20, and the city council granted it planning permission on October 26.
The city council has been approached for comment.
------------
READ MORE: CQC inspectors find patients are waiting too long at Royal Stoke A&E
Free from clickbait, pop-up ads and unwanted surveys, Stoke Nub News is a quality online newspaper for our city.
Subscribe to our FREE weekly newsletter email HERE - just click the 'SIGN UP' button.
Please consider following Stoke Nub News on Facebook or Twitter.
CHECK OUT OUR Jobs Section HERE!
stoke vacancies updated hourly!
Click here to see more: stoke jobs
Share: