Development halted after residents raise "serious concerns"
7:20am Sunday 30th September 2012 in News By Lauren May, Chief Reporter
Plans to build hundreds of homes on an industrial estate have been brought to a halt after councillors demanded residents’ “serious concerns” be addressed.
Residents and councillors have condemned plans to build 250 homes on the Rainbow industrial estate in Raynes Park, owned by the Workspace Group, accusing the council of allowing a developer to dictate its planning policy.
Opposition councillors complained the plans were presented as an official Merton Council planning brief, despite being written in the form of a developer’s planning application.
The land is currently designated an industrial site and is home to warehouses and storage units, but Workspace wants to build a mix of small businesses units, offices and residential development.
Conservative councillors put forward a motion at a full council meeting earlier this month to halt the plans pending a full review which was supported by Liberal Democrat councillors to address what they called a “fundamental lack of transparency”.
