Councillor in school costs row with HSE

ACOUNCILLOR has clashed with the Health And Safety Executive (HSE) over costs incurred in its opposition to the redevelopment of The Heath School in Runcorn.

Cllr Dave Thompson had asked the agency for a breakdown of how much public cash it had spent on legal work and experts when it used the secretary of state to block a planning application on safety grounds because the of risk of major chemical hazards in 2013.

The HSE said The Heath School had ‘unfortunately’ proceeded with the bid for a school with capacity for 1,650 pupils without ‘exhausting the pre-application process’.

Cllr Thompson has slated the agency’s opposition as ‘ridiculous’ and a burden on the public purse, vowing earlier this month to find out the exact figures using the Free- dom Of Information Act.

In response to Cllr Thompson’s request, it said the legal costs of blocking the plans were £50,884.22.

However, it only listed its expert witness and HSE staffing outlay as ‘418 staff days’ and ‘380 staff days’ respectively, with no monetary value attached, provoking the ire of Cllr Thompson who said other official bodies had provided cost figures.

Earlier this month Halton planning chiefs approved a redrafted school rebuild scheme, which will locate the buildings further away from Runcorn’s chemical works and reduce the capacity to 1,250 pupils.

It remains to be seen whether the HSE will again call in the application.

In his reply to the HSE, Cllr Thompson said: “Can I be very clear, I am seeking to determine what costs HSE was put to by a significant decision made by HSE to ‘call in’ a planning application.

“Either the HSE knows costs or it does not know.

“I have asked similar questions of the ESA and Halton Council and these public bodies appear to clearly understand what costs they have been put to in handling your decision to call in a planning application so I would hope that HSE can do likewise.”