Another marina refused planning permission

A MARINA planned for Slapton below Leighton Buzzard on the Grand Union Canal has been refused planning permission.

The 180 berths marina was refused by Aylesbury Vale District Council as it maintained the proposal was an ‘unsustainable form of development' in an ‘isolated location in open countryside where it is remote from existing services and facilities', Alan Tilbury tells us.

Convenience store and café

The marina would have been complete with the normal facilities of toilets, showers, laundry dry dock and slip-way with the addition of a convenience store and café.

However, the local Slapton Parish Council supported the application and Aylesbury Vale District Council received seven letters from the public favouring the proposals, stating that the marina would create jobs and bring in tourists, while the convenience store would also be handy for villagers.

Adverse impact

But there were 22 letters of objection, mostly that the marina would disrupt the peace of the countryside and have an adverse impact on the village.

There was a difference of opinion amongst council members with its marking people being in favour of the application but the council's planning officer was against it.

The developers however have the right to appeal, though none has yet been made.