I ATTENDED the Ryedale District Council planning meeting that passed the latest version of the Wentworth Street supermarket plan.

Despite living in Pickering, as chairman of Pickering and District Civic Society, I have more than a passing interest in the way planners operate. My personal preference is to listen carefully to both sides of the debate, but I expect sound evidence and reasoning behind any claims made.

I also take account of the fact that it is impossible to find time to read hundreds of pages of waffle and that there will undoubtedly be factors not made available to the public. Various arguments for and against this plan have been well documented and discussed in these pages.

It was interesting to note that some committee members had obviously spent a great deal of time dissecting those hundreds of pages and questioned the evidence and reasoning, much of which struggled to withstand close scrutiny. Other members gave the impression of having speed-read a few lobbying emails, then turned up with their decision already made, while regurgitating questionable claims from the developers.

I also twice heard the claim that if passed, it would improve traffic flow at Butcher Corner. I sadly admit to being one of the many who first gasped and then guffawed at this.

Another interesting claim was that the new store would attract customers from a 20-mile radius, from the York bypass right round to the edge of Scarborough.

I have a number of concerns. It would appear I wasted a substantial amount of time attending and giving evidence to the Local Plan Strategy (LPS) inquiry. I understood that this document, passed as sound by the inspector, would be the overarching strategy for all local planning decisions for the next 15 years.

Why then does it appear to be ignored, conveniently rewritten, or creatively reinterpreted and how well will this stand up under scrutiny? The LPS appears to say the town currently has enough supermarkets, including future capacity for the increase in planned housing. It is all well and good reinterpreting this, but will it convince a planning inspector at appeal?

The Wentworth Street application was already tested and rejected by the inspectorate at vast expense to us council-tax payers. No one at the meeting explained what was materially different this time round, other than that the council’s consultants have conveniently (and mysteriously, given the LPS) decided there is now capacity for both the cattle market site and Wentworth Street to be developed.

If this latest decision goes to appeal, will the inspector decide that the last inquiry got it wrong, or will there be another compensation claim for us to pay?

I’m well aware of the conflict between government policy for development and localism, but from my observations of recent planning issues, I can only see the district council planners and some of the committee being increasingly unfit for purpose. Perhaps there’s some scope for cost-cutting there.

Mike Potter, chairman of Pickering and District Civic Society