We had our consultation meeting with the developers etc. It was good. We banded to gether to ensure that they were in doubt that we were - on the whole - an intelligent, articulate, rational bunch with a variety of reasons to oppose the development. I told them coolly and rationally what I thought of their 'consultation'; I quizzed them about certain details especially pertinent to me; and at one stage I said to the legal bod, an arrogant, public schoolboy, "Stop twiddling your thumbs!" They were all so terribly arrogant: "We of course want to work with the residents and have radically changed the plans but we are confident we will win the public enquiry because we are right."
I think Julie stole the show by saying that another supermarket is looking to move into 'Alexander Dumas House' on Brixton Hill. (She had enquired about getting one of the units). It was comical to see the look of 'gulp! oh shit! back to the drawing board!' They recovered quickly and said "That can't possibly be true, we've studied the demographics..."
The arrogant lawyer type explained that he was spending £300k on the appeal. I explained we were spending a lot less than that, so our hearts weren't bleeding. I later asked what the projected profits were; he said, "Not as much as you think," and I said "And diminishing?" He nodded ruefully.
