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The Priory.

Posted: Thu May 02, 2019 5:14 pm
by Roo
It looks like the Council have finally 'removed their digit from their bottom' in a bid to force Firoka to do something about The Priory. Let's hope that they have some success in the matter and let's hope that Firoka, rather than the Taxpayer, ends up picking up the legal bill.

https://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/1761 ... ed-priory/

Re: The Priory.

Posted: Sat May 04, 2019 12:12 pm
by Kairdiff Exile
I always thought it was a crying shame that permission for the Hilton hotel wasn’t predicated on the Priory being an actual part of that development. It seems sacrilege to me that you’d build a utilitarian modern building next to a beautiful old fenced-off, boarded-up tumble-down building rather than incorporate that into what you’re constructing.

Granted, it would have cost more - but at the end of it you’d have an architecturally interesting and much more attractive hotel with some history to it. But that’s Ka$$am all over; knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

Re: The Priory.

Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 6:49 pm
by OtmoorYellow
A potential fine of £2,500 is never going to persuade Kassam to spend tens of thousands of pounds.

I really wish I knew more about planning issues and how to resolve them.

The part of me that knows about contract law clearly shows that Kassam is in breach of contract with respect to his lease on the Priory, as well as in breach of the planning conditions for the Hampton by Hilton Hotel.

Enforcement of the breach of the lease ultimately would simply result in withdrawal of the lease, which Kassam would no doubt want anyway. So that would be pointless in terms of forcing Kassam to keep to the agreement his company has signed.

Perhaps someone with better knowledge of planning issues could advise why the council could not simply withdrawn permission for the hotel on grounds of breach of conditions, and force Kassam to pull the hotel down, extreme though that reaction might seem.

Re: The Priory.

Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 7:59 pm
by Kairdiff Exile
OtmoorYellow wrote: Sun May 05, 2019 6:49 pm Perhaps someone with better knowledge of planning issues could advise why the council could not simply withdrawn permission for the hotel on grounds of breach of conditions, and force Kassam to pull the hotel down, extreme though that reaction might seem.
I don’t profess to be an expert, although I have a decent knowledge through previous work stuff. The answer is that it is very, very easy to successfully appeal such things or to just get retrospective permission without those pesky conditions being included. The enforcement route is therefore the lowest-risk option for cash-strapped local authorities. I agree though, that he’s not played fairly and deserves to suffer much more severe sanctions.