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Legal battle in store wars
Tuesday 7th April 2009, 4:30PM BST.
The owner of Telford Shopping Centre has mounted a legal challenge to the proposed multi-million pound masterplan to create a town centre for the 21st century.
Hark Apollo accuses Telford & Wrekin Council of deterring potential investors and flying in the face of official planning policy.
And it claims the council’s Central Telford Area Action Plan – a blueprint for development up to 2016 –- is “neither robust nor credible”.
But council officers and members deny the allegations and insist they will be able to see off any attempt to block their proposals.
Telford’s “store wars” blew up when Asda, currently located in the shopping centre and a long-time critic of its parking charges, made a successful bid to buy the council’s civic offices for a new supermarket just across the road.
Rob Cossey, director of Anglo-American Hark Apollo, accused the council of “economic sabotage” and undermining the future of the shopping centre.
His company has now gone on the attack by formally challenging the masterplan.
The news was broken at a meeting of the borough council’s cabinet last night by head of planning Michael Barker.
He said he had just received a letter from planning consultants Drivers Jonas on behalf of Hark Apollo.
The gist was that the council had failed to follow government advice or to fully consult the community, its evidence was “neither robust nor credible” and its policies would “deter sustainable investment”, Mr Barker said.
“I have spoken to my legal colleagues and disagree with all the points made. We will prepare a thorough response,” he added.
Councillor Vic Tonks, of Telford & Wrekin People’s Association, accused Hark Apollo of “sour grapes” and congratulated officers and councillors from all parties for coming up with an excellent masterplan after years of work.
Councillor Eric Carter, cabinet member for regeneration, said: “This letter is a negative document. It’s not helpful and it’s not accurate.”
The plan includes 2,000 homes, new shops, offices and a new ice rink.
By Peter Johnson
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Hark Apollo have loaded Telford citizens with charge after charge for parking, most recently setting an evening charge to catch out anyone venturing into the centre for an evening out. In return, they’ve not offered class-beating facilities that match the offer made by other centres in the region.
They’ve sat on the Telford centre and used it as a cash-cow for so long, that they’ve become complacent – you couldn’t really say that they had made any really worthwhile investment to the benefit of the community.
So it’s to be expected that when they wake up and see that their biggest clients are looking to move out and take on a property that will allow them to offer a better, cheaper service to their customers, Hark Apollo start crying foul and launching legal actions which will cost council-taxpayers to defend.
Hark Apollo take heed! You’d be better off using the money being spent on legal action to reduce or abolish your charges and, more importantly, invest in the centre and make it attractive to visitors, both in appearance and in amenities, especially night time activities.
You’ve pulled on the udders of this cash-cow for too long, and as a citizen of Telford, frustrated at your inability and unwillingness to make the centre of the town into somewhere that people would drive from miles away to be in, I hope that the council does manage to change the balance of power and give you all a good, sharp prod.
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This is the same T & W Council who tried to ban 2 penguins from the Town Park and single persons from the Park – vs a large multinational company if this go to the court the people of Telford will in my view have increases of over 30% in Council tax to pay for the court actions over the next 5 years.
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How does that saying go? “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!”
If they can’t take a bit of healthy competition…they should sell up and let someone else run TC, It’s been a waste of space for far too long, time for some radical changes methinks to bring it up to scratch. Try abolishing those parking fees for starters!
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How many potential investors have been detered by parking charges from Hark Apollo?.
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Hark knew what the plans were for the Town Park before they bought the Town Centre, they drove Asda into the arms of the council.
They’ve brought it on themselves, despite the ineptness of the current administration.
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all very well them arguing with teh council for selling there building to asda but what will it acheive as its asda that pulled out not the council, asda have made it aware they have been looking at moving out of the centre since the charges were put in for parking as there were looking at teh cap gemini site at the start.
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What planet are Hark Apollo living on? Have they ever been to the Asda at Donnington & seen the vast increase in customers who are sick of being ripped off by the parking charges in the Town Centre.
I have driven in about 20 of the US states & never had to pay for parking in their Shopping Malls,they would just boycott them & thats exactly what I urge the people of Telford to do,when they have a massive drop in their revenue they may see the stupidity of their ideas.The motorist are seen as an easy touch by this government what with 60+ pence tax on fuel & road fund that about 4/5ths does not get spent on the roads you only have to see the condition they have deteriorated into.
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