Chris Hodge & Judane's

[Tomblands]

(** mod edit - topic renamed **)

 

I thought there was a Chris Hodge thread already but I canna find it.

 

Anyway, I was told at lunch time that his much disputed planning permission has been completely refused. Anyone else heard anything similar?

[Styles]

I heard the same. Think it was 4 to 3 votes? A few councillors had to declair an intrest.

Slim Jim said they had to go along with the officals etc, how many times in the past have they done that!

Interesting to see what hodge does now.

[Njugle]

I thought there was a Chris Hodge thread already but I canna find it.

 

Hi Tomblands. Re: the former Chris Hodge thread. It is still there, but it kinda digressed into a discussion about shops in general, so it was re-named. That's why you couldn't find it.

 

Click here to view it

[JustMe]

Of course this was only the planning sub committee and the full council sometimes overturns their decisions. That said I believed from day one that there was a change of use issue that had to be decided upon and I fully expected some opposition from established traders. How anyone could have given Chris Hodge any other advice I cannot understand.

 

Of course the application must be judged on strict planning issues ONLY!. And that goes both ways. He should not get consent because of the alleged bad advice from the planning department and he should not be refused because of the way he conducted his final sale at St. Clements hall.

[Styles]

What happened at his final sale at st Clements?

[JustMe]

I think it is fair to say that Mr. Hodge was making a two fingered salute to the council who were preventing him holding more sales there. Not content with the hall he had scaffold frames covered with tarpaulins on both the grass areas in the front, he allowed the whole place to become a mess and from memory was irritating the neighbours by playing music in his "extensions". I also suspect but cant now prove that the fire exit in the hall was obstructed.

[Gandhi]

He might have ta pit his cafe plans on hold then...

[Heimdal]

I think the planning committee are making fools of themselves on this one, to grant permission for his 52 space car park, then refuse permission for a change of use immediately afterwards is perverse in the extreme and just plain daft. I would hope that the full council will reverse this decision, taken by only 7 members out of a total of 25 ( ).

The support he seems to be getting would indicate that there is a demand for the stuff he is selling. Certainly a lot of it is crap quality ( "never mind the width, feel the price" comes to mind) but some of it is OK and is keenly priced. My niece bought a packet of 36 HB pencils with rubbers on the end for £1.50, should keep her going until the summer holidays at least

When he was an itinerant trader I would not have bought anything from him as he was paying no rates or employing local staff, but he has now made a significant commitment to Lerwick and is doing both. Customers ( or lack of) dictate the success (or failure) of a business and artificial barriers should not be raised against it.

[alwaysroomforcake]

I like chris hodge.

 

He sells cheap sh*te cheap.

Sometimes thats what you want. Who wants one tea towel for ten pounds from an in ower shop when you can get them for less than a pound in hodges. As long as it drys the dishes, and if its cheap you wont feel so guilty for using it to wipe up some spilt paint.

 

Some other shops in toon sell much the same cheap sh*te only at highly inflated prices.

 

disclaimer:- tea towel prices were guesstimations and are no indicatuion as to actual prices in any lerwick shop.

[shetlander]

I have no issue with outside retailers coming in and anything that can be done to improve retail choice and bring in a bit of competition to improve the standard and customer service in shops in Lerwick generally (whilst creating jobs, encouraging folk to spend more money in Shetland and improve the vibrancy of the town) can only be a good thing. However, shops have to be directed to the right location and this one clearly isn’t. Leaving aside the bad advice Chris Hodge was given, the issues about St Clements Hall and the town shopkeepers there are actually some very good planning reasons for this application to be refused – as you will see if you read the report on the Council’s website.

 

National planning policy guidance clearly states that town centres are the preferred location for retailing and this is reflected in the Council’s own planning policies. The only exceptions (of which there are examples in Lerwick) are bulky goods i.e. furniture and carpets (such as the LBC and G and S Flooring) and ancillary retailing associated with industrial uses (such as McNabs and the shop associated with the Judane factory when it was there). The guidance is there to protect and enhance the vibrancy of town centres (and NOT necessarily the interests of local shopkeepers – most of the shops in bigger town centres south are national chains after all) and to avoid the very kind of conflicts which have already been experienced between customer and industrial traffic at locations such as the Blackhill Industrial Estate. Like anyone who has a planning application refused, Chris Hodge will (and I understand he intends to) appeal to the Scottish Executive. The purpose of the appeal system is to allow applicants to be given a second, independent, hearing if there are considered to be any spurious reasons for planning applications to be refused (which I don’t think is the case in this instance).

 

Leaving aside the planning application and the result of any appeal, I would have thought that Chris Hodge would have a very good legal case against the Council in terms of the wrong advice he was given and the costs he accrued in terms of signing a lease (or did he buy the building?) in the good faith that he didn’t need planning permission – but two wrongs don’t make a right.

 

Perhaps there’s a bigger issue here too regarding the lack of a range of sizes of retail premises in the town centre at a reasonable cost to businesses and that’s something that has to be looked at in more detail.

[Styles]

I would agree if Bolts did not exist.

 

I think Hodge should be allowed to have his shop. The whole thing has been such a mess, but do you hear about the folk at planning getting fired, do you heck! If it was a private company the folk would have been out on their ear!

 

The Councillors are allways going against officals advice and planning policy. Irf they did stick to it most of the time i would say turn it down but as they dont, Im a bit annoyed they are trying to hide behind it this time.

 

Surley it should be allowed to go ahead and give the people of shetland a choice!

[Evil Inky]

I think it is fair to say that Mr. Hodge was making a two fingered salute to the council ...

 

Good for him

[JustMe]

Heimdal wrote

I think the planning committee are making fools of themselves on this one, to grant permission for his 52 space car park, then refuse permission for a change of use immediately afterwards is perverse in the extreme and just plain daft

 

Not so daft really. Creating a new car park for the former Judane factory throws up different issues to the change of use application and could well prove an asset if the change of use fails in its appeal and another use has to be found for the property. Put simply there is no reason to refuse the car park and the applicant is entitled to have his car park even if he cannot use the building as a shop.

 

Incidentally I suspect that yet another application will have to be made regarding the cafe. Change of use again.

[shetlander]

I would agree if Bolts did not exist.

 

I think Hodge should be allowed to have his shop. The whole thing has been such a mess, but do you hear about the folk at planning getting fired, do you heck! If it was a private company the folk would have been out on their ear!

 

The Councillors are allways going against officals advice and planning policy. Irf they did stick to it most of the time i would say turn it down but as they dont, Im a bit annoyed they are trying to hide behind it this time.

 

Surley it should be allowed to go ahead and give the people of shetland a choice!

 

I hear what you're saying about Bolts, although from memory the first stages of the Toll Clock (and a lot of out-of-town shopping centres south) date from around the early 90s, pre-dating much of the new planning guidance on retailing. Its probably unlikely that the Toll Clock given its location out of the town centre would get permission if consent was being sought for it as a new development now.

 

As far as the wrong advice given by the Council goes, yes it was a major cock-up. How do you know that the official involved wasn't sacked or disciplined though or for that matter hasn't resigned in light of the furore this has caused? Regardless of that, everyone makes mistakes in their work and I'm guessing that the person who gave the advice may not wholly be to blame (presumably all written advice given to anyone is checked by a senior member of staff). Remember too that planning isn't always an exact science - whether or not a use (whether industrial or retail) is considered to be the primary one within a building or ancillary to another one isn't always clear cut. Planners can only advise people on the necessity or otherwise of planning permission based on the information they are given by property/business owners in the first place, which may not always be the truth. I'm not suggesting this was the case here and maybe the official involved was simply incompetent. But if I was in his/her position the negative press coverage and the ongoing furore this has caused (which doesn't look like its going to go away) would probably be punishment enough for the mistake made without the threat of being sacked.

 

I agree that its a bit rich that councillors are saying they are going with this because of officials advice when they seem to pick and choose when that suits them although im a bit confused as to why that should influence your view on whether the planning application for this should be approved or refused.

 

Remember too that recommendations by officials can't be made on anything other than planning grounds (although yes, councillors can make a decision on whatever grounds they want) and retail choice and the type and price of goods sold aren't planning matters.

[Rourkes Drift]

Chris Hodge should be provided with an award for broadening the scope of private sector business in Shetland.