Section 2 of the Application Form defines the name and address of the applicant - and that is NOT Richard and Julia Channon.marymck wrote:Sorry JGD but I still can't see anything about that in the planning application documents. As I'm sure you know, anyone can make a planning application. An applicant doesn't have to own the site or even have any kind of contract arrangement in place. The planning application's "Declaration of Ownership" states the site is still owned by Julia and Richard Channon and it was this I was looking at, not the Land Registry records as I know these lag behind reality. But if you have inside knowledge that it's definitely been sold to these developers, then of course I accept your word for it. I do think it a great shame that the pub didn't go on the open market though.
Section 3 of the Application Form defines the Agents Name and Address.
It is very precise of you to to say that anyone can make a planning application.
It is also accurate to state that the process of making a Planning Application does have some very effective checks and balances.
Some of these are very specifically defined in Section 25 of the Application Form which states:
This Decalaration provides protection from fraudulent submissions being made for a property without the owner being notified. This prevents just anyone from making ad-hoc Planning Applications that may blight the property or its value.Section 25
CERTIFICATE OF OWNERSHIP - CERTIFICATE B - Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 Certificate under Article 14
I certify/The applicant certifies that I have/the applicant has given the requisite notice to everyone else (as listed below) who, on the day 21 days before the date of this application, was the owner* and/or agricultural tenant** of any part of the land or building to which this application relates.
* 'owner' is a person with a freehold interest or leasehold interest with at least 7 years left to run. ** 'agricultural tenant' has the meaning given in section 65(8) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990
In practice it works this way. The planning authority can check the Declaration made by the Applicant about the ownership details and will notify the Land Registry. The authority also may notify the registered owner. The Land Registry in turn can advise the registered owner that an application has been made with an option to respond if they have not received formal notification in line with the applicant's declaration at Section 25. Equally if the registered owner has received formal notification, they need do nothing.
As I understand it the registered owners in this case received the required notifications from all parties.
It is interesting that you positively state your regret that the pub didn't go on the open market. If you do have insight about how it was marketed perhaps you can share those details with us.
Armed with that knowledge, how would you have preferred it to be done and how different do you think the outcome would have been ?
Oh, and please do not feel obliged to take my views as being the authoritative or definitive version of the matters of fact around the sale. The declarations of Mr Mark Harris of Vanquish ID on both their company's web-site and in the local press are unequivocal about the sale.
As is Julia Channon's post about the sale on a local forum.