A man has vowed to go to the High Court over plans to build a warehouse near his home which he says would be “overbearing”.
Giulio Zicchi wants a judge to make clear that the idea something can be described as overbearing is subjective. He is trying to halt plans for a 24-hour self-storage warehouse at the back of houses in Grantham Road, Manor Park.
Mr Zicchi, speaking at a council meeting at Old Town Hall, Stratford on Tuesday, March 10 to discuss the bid, said to councillors: 'You can't tell me that building is not overbearing.'
Austringer Land Ltd, which has its head office on the Isle of Man, wanted to know if the warehouse - which could range in height from nine to 15 metres - would be acceptable to Newham before it submits a more detailed application.
A previous application was made, but the developer has submitted another after finding a potential user for the site.
Mr Zicchi claimed at the strategic development committee meeting: 'This is a fait accompli. All the way through this process there was a concerted effort to steer the committee away from the main objection that [the warehouse] is overbearing, which is a subjective concept.'
He went on to raise concerns about the scheme's impact on noise and light levels while complaining that council planning officers had met with the applicant but not with objectors.
The council's planning officer said a condition would be introduced for a demolition and management plan to be in place before construction.
The process, which allows both applicants and objectors five minutes to address committee members, was also slammed by Mr Zicchi for not allowing enough time to discuss the application documents.
Representatives for the applicant were not present at the meeting.
Committee member Cllr Carleene Lee-Phakoe raised the possible impact of people parking cars in the middle of the night at the facility's 21 spaces. But the officer said a nearby 24-hour gym was already operating in the same way.
He added there were a 'number of avenues' the council can explore when further details about the warehouse come in with all residents consulted again.
The committee voted unanimously in favour of the bid.
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