Blunt speaking

4:34pm Saturday 14th January 2006

PROBLEMS relating to excavations and lorry movements at the controversial Blunts Farm golf course development are the result of planning conditions "nowhere near as stringent as they should have been".

The admission by Epping Forest Council leader John Knapman comes just days before councillors discuss whether to take enforcement action against the developer of the 18-hole course in Theydon Bois.

Photographs obtained by the Guardian show massive excavations at the Coopersale Lane site. But it emerged this week that the council set down only minimum and not maximum depths for earth work.

Mr Knapman said the council had stated "holes should not be less than 1m deep", adding: "The problem with that is that it just doesn't exert effective control. You put maximums on not minimums."

He said: "The problem as I see it, and which has been recognised by the council on a number of occasions, is that the planning conditions on this site were nowhere near as stringent as they should have been.

"The planning committee failed to take on board Theydon Bois Parish Council's and local residents' concerns about lorry movements. The council has tried to rectify the position for any future golf course developments, but unfortunately that has not helped the residents of Abridge and Theydon Bois in this case."

He said that throughout the last year landscape officers and Environment Agency officials visited the site and monitored activities.

"I'm not aware of any Environment Agency concerns but in the latter part of 2005 issues surrounding a particularly large crater' have emerged. For me the issue is whether this is in line with the planning conditions and how it (the crater) can have grown so large without officers noticing. Also, is it against our planning conditions?

"My worry is that the weakness of the planning conditions has allowed the developers to drive a coach, horses and hundreds of heavy lorries through our planning control system."

He said imported earth movements were expected to stop around early April with the site green' by around October.

"The committee will have to decide if it can justifiably stop lorry movements except for soil, peat and topsoil. What would sicken me the most is if any enforcement action is challenged in the courts and because of our past mistakes we end up having to pay court fees and compensation.

"Having put up with the lorries any financial settlement would be the last kick in the teeth. However if the evidence is undeniable I would readily support any action to stop further lorry movements other than those which allow the finishing off of the development."