A man burst in to a meeting at Hove Town Hall this afternoon and threw tomatoes at councillors while also hurling abuse.
Steve McLean, of Hazeldene Meads, Brighton, ranted at members of the Brighton and Hove City Council Planning Committee and tried to pelt them.
He appeared to mistake Councillor Trevor Alford, a Conservative who represents North Portslade, for the late Councillor David Smart.
Councillor Smart died in December a month after taking part in a meeting during which Mr Mclean was refused planning permission for alterations to his house.
Mr McLean, who has had a long-running struggle with the council to win permission for his designs, fled before security staff were able to reach the meeting.
He stormed out of the meeting in November when his application was turned down after an outburst that prompted the committee chairman, Councillor Lynda Hyde, to ask him to leave.
Today the meeting resumed within minutes of Mr McLean’s attack.
I attended both meetings. I was at a loss to understand his application last year – with solar panels over one side of a pitched roof sticking up above the roofline like that was perfectly OK. Other features of the application told me the officers were doing him a favour as much as the streetscene.
Who would ever buy his house in that state if he got permission and one day needed to sell it?
He’s a very distressed man in need of a serious sort-out he can accept.
My protest is about the way the planning system is being used for “social engineering” in a way that breaches fundamental human rights. I have been trying for 5 years to create a zero energy home that runs entirely on renewable energy but this has been blocked at every stage by the planning system. My case has been sent to a house of commons select committee looking at barriers to sustainable building which concluded the planning system is THE main obstacle to this. My last application for solar panels that are barely visible was recommended for approval by the planners and supported 100% by all political parties except the conservatives who voted 100% against thereby blocking my application. David Smart was involved in numerous discussions working out how to block our application contrary to all the planning protocols and codes of conduct. So as far as the conservatives are concerned we are now forced against our will to sustain our lives based on obscene consumption of fossil fuels when there is a practical viable and extremely low impact solution that means we don’t create ANY environmental impact. The council have said that despite the fact we have been refused permission numerous times that won’t serve an enforcement notice so we now have to run the gauntlet of protesters against renewable energy including Valerie Painter’s Save Hove Campaign (please god save us from the Save Hove campaign). The final straw is threats against me and my family to use dogs covered by the dangerous dogs act.
My protest is about the way the planning system is being used for “social engineering” in a way that breaches fundamental human rights. I have been trying for 5 years to create a zero energy home that runs entirely on renewable energy but this has been blocked at every stage by the planning system. My case has been sent to a house of commons select committee looking at barriers to sustainable building which concluded the planning system is THE main obstacle to this. My last application for solar panels that are barely visible was recommended for approval by the planners and supported 100% by all political parties except the conservatives who voted 100% against thereby blocking my application. David Smart was involved in numerous discussions working out how to block our application contrary to all the planning protocols and codes of conduct. So as far as the conservatives are concerned we are now forced against our will to sustain our lives based on obscene consumption of fossil fuels when there is a practical viable and extremely low impact solution that means we don’t create ANY environmental impact. The council have said that despite the fact we have been refused permission numerous times that won’t serve an enforcement notice so we now have to run the gauntlet of protesters against renewable energy including Valerie Painter’s Save Hove Campaign (please god save us from the Save Hove campaign). The final straw is threats against me and my family to use dogs covered by the dangerous dogs act.