Reply from the council

Andrew Benson replied to me today. As you will see he recommends people emailing in or writing when there are any more developments as these really show the local support.... Here's his email in full.... Hello Nicky Thank you for emailing me. I have seen the petition and the application is clearly well supported by many Reigate residents. Indeed within the Planning department itself it is fair to say that views on the proposal were mixed with some for and some against. It is partly because of the strength of views and differences of opinion that it was referred up to the Planning Committee to make the decision. Whilst Wagamamas is a very popular restaurant chain, we must make decisions in accordance with adopted policies. In this case the policy protecting a certain amount of retail uses. Planning can't differentiate between applicants and so we were left with a decision on whether to protect the retail use or allow another restaurant. No case had been made as to why continued retail use may be unviable as the policy would normally require (the unit has not been marketed for retail use) and therefore we were left with little option but to recommend refusal which the Planning Committee Members voted in favour of. Otherwise we could not protect other shops in the town such as Knights from also turning into restaurants/takeaways. The petition itself comes too late to affect the Council's decision which was made last Wednesday. However, I suspect the applicant will appeal in which case the petition will be taken into consideration at that stage. Alternatively they may reapply in which case I would encourage all interested people to submit comments as early in the process as possible (although following this petition the strength of local views will be known!). Therefore whilst the Council cannot reconsider the latest application, I am sure the door is not closed to a Wagamamas in Reigate. I hope that helps clarify the situation and the reasons behind the decision. The application was certainly well debated and I can entirely understand the support for the proposal so would like to thank you for contributing to that debate. If you have any further queries or would like any clarification then please don't hesitate to contact me. Best regards Andrew Andrew Benson Major Development Manager He also suggests writing in or emailing when there are further developments to support this case... "People can comment on a planning application via the Council’s website, by emailing planning.applications@reigate-banstead.gov.uk or by post. At the time of the application being decided last Wednesday we had received 10 letters of support and 4 objections so a long way from the 1000 signatories in favour of the petition. Individual representations do tend to carry more weight than a petition as they are easier to verify names and addresses etc so people should be encouraged to comment on any revised application if and when it is received." I'll keep you all posted with any further developments..