2:24 pm, March 1, 2023
A Brentwood councillor has quit over a decision to approve a supercar dealership on the greenbelt between the town and M25.
Tom McLaren, former Tory councillor for South Weald, spoke out against the dealership proposal from Grange Motors that was approved last week.
The approval will allow Grange Motors to move its existing Aston Martin and Jaguar dealerships in Brentwood, Bentley and Lamborghini in Chelmsford and a new Land Rover dealership all to the same site on London Road.
The current Aston Martin and Jaguar dealerships are around 200 metres from the new site in Brentwood.
McLaren had been councillor for South Weald since 2018 and was previously councillor for Redbridge.
He told Essex Live that his personal opinion was ‘strong enough that I can’t be part of an administration that is going to pursue those kinds of policies’.
Leader of Brentwood Borough Council councillor Chris Hossack told Essex Live: ‘Tom McLaren has quit the council completely because he did not like a decision the Conservatives made to invest in our economy tidy up the front door of Brentwood make some great investment in job creation.’
The new dealership will be built alongside 50 new homes that have also been approved, despite recommendations from officers that it would be an inappropriate development.
Commenting on the development, planning committee member and councillor Keith Barber said: ‘In terms of the the reasons for this, it’s economic, it’s jobs, it’s people’s livelihoods.
‘This does not make contiguous housing from Brentwood to Harold Wood, that’s just simply untrue.
‘The entrance to our town has been very poor for many years. This is a chance to improve that area.’
A spokesperson for Brentwood Borough Council told Essex Live: ‘Tom McLaren has recently resigned from his seat in South Weald and stepped down as a member of the council.’
Grange Motors, owned by Cambria Automobiles, was approached for a comment.
Cambria Automobiles CEO Mark Lavery will be the headline speaker at the forthcoming Car Dealer Live conference, sponsored by Auto Trader, being held at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon on Thursday, March 9.
Car Dealer Live – the future of the car dealer – exclusive conference features talks from leading car dealers, Google and Auto Trader among much more. Find out the full event details and book tickets.
