Burchatt’s Barn Chiropractic Planning Appeal Claims ‘Abuse Of Power’

Published on: 15 Jul, 2019
Updated on: 16 Jul, 2019

By Hugh Coakley

The management of the Guildford Chiropractic Centre has come out fighting in a renewed bid to use the Grade II-listed Burchatt’s Barn for their work.

Burchatt’s Farm Barn

Their planning application for a change of use at the building was rejected in March this year, but in an appeal backed by a co-ordinated media campaign, they say they want to “take back the truth”,” and “hopefully, by opening up, more people can understand our position”.

Their appeal states that one of Guildford Borough Council’s “Aldermen and a small group of its councillors pre-judged the application and set out to frustrate the planning process for political reasons”.

They add: “It might also be argued that their actions were an abuse of power.” Names contained in a section of the document, referring to “an orchestrated campaign” and “bullying”, have been redacted.

It goes on to say that it was “unacceptable for a committee member of the BCA [Burpham Community Association] to phone the appellants and ‘warn them off’, and for the appellants’ agent to be threatened by the Guildford Shakespeare Company”.

Liz Critchfield, secretary of the BCA, told The Guildford Dragon she had checked with all the committee members and added: “I can confirm that no current committee member phoned the appellants to warn them off.

“All BCA communication has been in response to the agent or one of the appellants, conducted via email by either the secretary or chairman with the knowledge and approval of at least one other committee member. Every effort was made to be polite and constructive.

“The allegation made in the appeal document was also raised at the BCA AGM in May by Mr Plumridge [the Guildford Chiropractic Centre’s agent]. He was invited by the chairman to present the evidence for his assertion but has not yet done so.”

Karin Walker, a solicitor for the Guildford Shakespeare Company, said: “GSC presented a bid for Burchatt’s Farm Barn, which was unsuccessful. Whilst initially disappointed, GSC accepted this decision and are exploring alternative options with GBC.

“Any ongoing issues between any other party and GBC regarding Burchatt’s Farm Barn are not the concern of GSC. We are aware of public upset about the perceived failure of GBC to find suitable alternative accommodation but this is something over which we have no control and in which we are not involved.

“GSC received an ‘unannounced’ visit from Mr Plumridge on behalf of his clients. He was not ‘threatened’ but was asked to leave our premises as GSC wish to have no involvement in matters which are not of our concern.

“Anything which may give rise to a need to take action, such as false allegations, will be handled privately on our behalf.”

Philip Hehir, the principal in the Guildford Chiropractic Centre, and his fiancé, Annie Colman, the practice manager, said they had been misrepresented by a “small group” who created “a false narrative” during the planning process.

Annie Colman, practice manager of the Guildford Chiropractic Centre

Ms Colman told The Dragon: “We know the GSC is a charity but we are healthcare and have been operating in Guildford for 65 years now. We are commercial but we are very small and we also see ourselves as a community asset.”

The lease on their present location on the London Road in Burpham has expired. They have not been able to find suitable accommodation and, after more than two years searching, it may mean they will have to close the business. The centre takes up to 300 patients and 10 new referrals each week.

In a detailed interview on their website, Ms Colman said: “We take the pressure off the NHS. We’d also like to say having experienced being part of a stream of ‘fake news’ for the first time in our lives, please don’t believe everything you read, even in your local newspapers. Opinions are not truth.”

Philip Hehir, principal of the Guildford Chiropractic Centre

Mr Hehir was asked if articles published by The Guildford Dragon NEWS were included as those regarded as ‘fake news’? He said: “What was referred to as ‘fake news’ was based on the spreading of misinformation online via various media/communication outlets.

“This included Facebook posts, comments made by some of your readers, and emails sent by residents’ associations. We felt anyone sharing or distributing information on this issue had an obligation to check the accuracy of their statements first.

“By the time we had cottoned on to it, an inaccurate narrative was being portrayed.  The evidence we have provided in our appeal merely demonstrates to the inspectorate the extent of the campaign to derail our planning application.

“[We are] not insinuating that The Dragon deliberately gave false information, but simply that inaccurate information was being shared which, for the record, has included other media outlets.

“Whilst we respect the right to an opinion on the decision to lease Burchatts Farm Barn (BFB),  we feel the sabotaging of a planning application is not the correct way of voicing objection to the council on this type of issue.

“Members of the community were made aware of GBC’s decision to lease Burchatts Farm some years ago. I am puzzled by why those who objected did not raise their concerns before the opportunity to lease commercially was well underway.

“In regard to GSC, we are still surprised why the pitting of our two businesses against each other was ever started, as we know there were many more than just two applicants. We have a lot for respect for the GSC and we, like many of your readers, also value what they do for the community.

“But there is a plethora of evidence that some individuals would have preferred them to have secured BFB and in doing so shared false ‘truths’ to manipulate the planning process.

“You only have to look at many of the objections made on the planning website and how they cite that the GSC should have been granted tenure of the building, irrespective of planning rules and the complex application process that had occurred some months before.

“Just like the intentions of the GSC, we put our best foot forward in the application process and, unfortunately for them, we won. It must be noted that we bid in good faith to try to save and preserve our historic clinic with no knowledge at the time of who else was bidding.

“We had no direct contact with the GSC at all during this process.”

The bid for Burchatt’s Barn by the Guildford Chiropractor Centre attracted 84 objections but also 43 comments of support for the change of use necessary to allow a chiropractic business to become tenants.

Gordon Bridger

Objectors included Hon Alderman Gordon Bridger and Cllr Tony Rooth who is now in the Residents for Guildford and Villages group. It was also opposed by the Guildford Society.

Alderman Bridger, a consistent critic of GBC’s management of Burchatt’s Barn and the planning application, said: “The appellants have been extremely badly advised to challenge the council’s planning decision, which was, and always is, taken on non-political grounds.

“That their agents do not appreciate this and make a series of potentially libellous claims against the councillors who voted them down is a very unprofessional piece of advice.

“The Planning Committee with its 15 members had not one member support the application and they were all from different parties. Cllr Spooner, leader of the council [at the time], Cllr Furniss, deputy leader of the council [at the time], and Cllr Reeves, leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, had all supported the lease of the Barn.

“Yet they were rightly ignored by all other members [of the planning committee] from their own parties. They will be very annoyed to be accused of this irregular behaviour and the agents should be reprimanded for leading them up this path.

“They do have a case for complaining against not only their agents but also the council whose staff failed to inform them that they needed planning permission.”

But Ms Colman remains optimistic. She said: “I feel there is possibly a change of thinking in GBC because they now fully understand the difficulty in housing healthcare facilities.”

The date of the appeal, submitted on June 7, 2019, is to be announced.

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