Freddie Cohen, who lost his Senatorial seat in October’s General Election, posted on Twitter that he had received lots of objections from parish officials and that having ‘good architecture did not guarantee a consent’.
He posted the comments after he rejected the scheme on the site of the former Zanzibar restaurant in a public ministerial planning meeting in July.
Speaking in the Royal Court yesterday, Advocate Matthew Jowitt, representing Dandara in their appeal against the minister’s refusal, said that Mr Cohen’s decision had been ‘flawed’ and ‘unreasonable’ because he had not based it on planning grounds.
‘The minister had been there for five year years,’ said Advocate Jowitt. ‘He knew the difference between planning consideration and political pressure. He knew what he was saying when he said he had given in to political pressure at the meeting. It was compounded by the issue of the refusal notice. The decision was made largely, and we suggest exclusively, on the basis of irrelevant issues.’
Full story in Friday’s JEP
