When a planning application was lodged in 2020 for the demolition and redevelopment of the former Bupa and Centrum Houses, local resident Christopher Day and his neighbours were pretty horrified. Here he writes about his experience of multiple Council meetings, affected technical jargon and a process that favours development professionals over local communities.
He notes that every so often, an email or social media message pops up about one development or other, inviting people to ‘let us know what you think’. Following this experience, he suggests it’s difficult not to reply by quoting my neighbour who asked, basically, ‘what’s the point?’