Minister backs hotel plan

Friday December 11, 2009

A decision to give planning consent for a hotel in Olympia has been upheld by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

H&F Council's planning applications committee considered and agreed to approve the plans for the G-Gate Hotel, by Earls Court/Olympia Group and Aparthotels (West London) Limited, on September 3, 2008.

But, in a rare move by national standards, the Secretary of State blocked the ruling by local councillors and ordered an inquiry. Hazel Blears MP, who was Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government at the time, 'called in' the application to determine whether the proposals 'conflict with national policies on important matters'.

The move, in October 2008, triggered an independent planning inquiry which resulted in the inspector agreeing with the local planning committee's decision and advising the Secretary of State to confirm the plans.

The new Secretary of State, John Denham MP, agreed with the inspector saying: "The proposed hotel would not appear over-dominant in relation to any nearby buildings and would respect the urban grain. The design and materials would be of an extremely high quality and the development would promote inclusivity."

The intervention was not the first time that a national politician has threatened to interfere with local decision making. In August 2008 and again in March 2009 Hazel Blears stepped in to hold up the approval of White City's new health centre. On both occasions the approval of the development was delayed, although ultimately the council's decision to approve the plans was endorsed.

Councillor Stephen Greenhalgh, H&F Council Leader, says: "Only 150 applications across England and Wales are called in every year, so to have two applications from the same borough questioned in just over the same number of months seems distinctly odd."

The plans for G-Gate will now see a 259 room hotel built above the underdeveloped marshalling yard next to the Olympia Conference Centre.