NIRAH Demo Report – Friday 19th October 2007
Bedford Animal Action organised a demonstration outside council offices to coincide with the planning application meeting for the NIRAH project. Local campaigners gathered outside Mid Beds District Council offices near Chicksands in Bedfordshire to protest against the proposed aquarium and research laboratory. Inside members of Bedfordshire County Council’s Development Control Committee listened to arguments both for and against the project before making a decision to grant outline planning permission.
The venue for the meeting had been changed at short notice from County Hall in Bedford, which was easily accessible, to the Mid Beds offices which are practically in the middle of nowhere and consequently much harder to reach. The Bedfordshire on Sunday reported that the change of venue was due to security fears related to the planned protest although the council deny this (for full article see http://www.bedsonsunday.com
Campaigners gathered outside the offices from 9am onwards with banners, placards and leaflets. Chants of ‘Say No to NIRAH’ greeted those arriving for the meeting. Pro-NIRAH supporters were also in attendance, however only made a brief appearance outside with their banner for a photo opportunity with the press before retreating to the warmth of the café inside the building. Police officers arrived in a riot van, however they too did not venture much outside the warmth of the building, except to threaten campaigners with arrest if they did not move from a particular area where the police claimed they were obstructing the entrance. The Mid Beds offices have a large entrance with a wide concourse for pedestrians and it is clear from photos that the protesters were in no way causing an obstruction, however they did move as requested at the time. It is interesting to note that when the pro-NIRAH supporters came outside to have their photo taken they were not asked to move by the police despite standing even closer to the entrance.
The meeting itself was a very disappointing and worrying example of local democracy in action. The local newspaper Bedfordshire on Sunday reports that a decision was arrived at after “more than four hours of debate” (see http://www.bedsonsunday.com
The meeting reconvened at approximately 11am and the next 20 minutes or so were taken up by the Chairman of the committee summarising the council officers’ report on the planning application for the benefit of those present. Following this a further 40 minutes were given over to objectors to the scheme. Gallagher Estates reiterated their objections and proposed that planning permission either be refused or the decision deferred until a later date. They also claimed that any decision taken today would be illegal due to faults with the planning officers’ report among other things and threatened legal action in the form of a judicial review if planning permission was granted. Justina Mclennan, Bedford Animal Action co-ordinator and local Green Party member, then outlined a number of concerns including the environmental impact, fears over the research side of the project, security issues and lack of transparency and public consultation. The full text of her speech can be viewed here
Next came speeches from NIRAH representatives and others in support of the project. These included the usual candidates in the form of Frank Branston, Mayor of Bedford, and Patrick Hall, MP for Bedford and Kempston. Also speaking in favour were a representative of Renaissance Bedford, and a representative of O & H Properties, who are bound to support the project as they own the land on which it is to be built so stand to make a profit from the sale of the land to NIRAH should the project go ahead. Speaking for NIRAH itself were Peter Scott, a vet specialising in fish and head of NIRAH’s ethics committee, a representative from Arup who helped NIRAH put together their planning application, and Keith Edelman, Director of NIRAH and Managing Director of Arsenal FC. These speeches took a total time in excess of the 40 minutes allocated as Keith Edelman insisted in going over time and proved difficult to shut up.
Following the speakers for and against there was a short break and the meeting recommenced at about 1pm. The next half an hour or so was taken up with clarifications from council officers as the committee seemed confused as to the planning process and indeed what they were at the meeting for. The formal debate started at around 1.30pm and lasted probably less than half an hour in total. The discussion was entirely centred around the proposed ‘park and shuttle’ scheme and its shortcomings over which committee members were very critical; the many other concerns bought up by Justina Mclennan in her speech were not addressed at all. Following this somewhat half-hearted debate members of local and parish councils were allowed to have a further say. Again all expressed concern over some aspect of the travel arrangements or anticipated traffic problems. Despite this and the fact that many other organisations, including both Bedford Borough Council and Mid Beds District Council, had objected to the planning application seven councillors voted in favour of granting outline planning permission with one councillor abstaining who believed the decision should have been deferred.
Campaigners continued to protest outside the building for the duration of the meeting and received some positive comments from council staff who claimed that the NIRAH representatives were rude and arrogant and that the protesters were far nicer. The meeting and demonstration were covered by all the local radio and TV stations, with particularly good coverage on the Anglia 6pm news. Further coverage in the local media can be found at the Bedfordshire Times and Citizen at http://www.bedfordtoday.co.uk