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Labour calls for an investigation into Jenrick’s ‘biased’ approval of 1,500-home development
Shadow minister for housing and planning Mike Amesbury has called for a Cabinet Office investigation into the housing secretary’s unlawful planning approval of a development in east London.
Mr Amesbury has written to cabinet secretary Sir Mark Sedwill to say that “serious questions” should be answered over a decision by housing secretary Robert Jenrick to approve a 1,500-home development on the Westferry Printworks site, despite the local authority and government planning inspector advising against it.
Mr Jenrick’s intervention came on 14 January 2020, a day before the developer – on a site owned by a Conservative Party donor – would have been forced to pay Tower Hamlets Council up to £50m in Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) charges.
Tower Hamlets Council was due to announce its local plan and approve a new CIL charging schedule on 15 January.
Instead of releasing documents on the decision, as ordered by the courts, Mr Jenrick accepted the decision was “unlawful by reason of apparent bias” and approval has now been rescinded with another secretary of state due to make a decision on the development.
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Mr Amesbury said: “The consequence of Mr Jenrick’s decision was to save a developer a very great amount of money and in light of conceding the judicial review claim, gives rise to serious questions which require answers.”
He urged the cabinet secretary to “fully investigate” the matter.
The £1bn scheme on the former site of Westferry Printworks on the Isle of Dogs was rejected by the government’s planning inspector who argued that it did not offer adequate levels of affordable housing and harms views of Tower Bridge.
The land for the development is owned by Northern & Shell, which belongs to Conservative donor Richard Desmond.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government previously said it rejects the suggestion that the decision was made on an “actual bias”.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “We will respond to the letter in due course.”
