Cllr Alan Dean

Liberal Democrat Councillor for Stansted North on Uttlesford District Council and former Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group Learn more

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Bank holiday planning meeting controversy rumbles on

by Alan Dean on 5 August, 2013

Last Monday’s blog post on the story of the controversially timed Bank Holiday planning committee meeting containing three controversial planning applications has rumbled on. The Dunmow and Stansted Observer published this story last Thursday on page 3 with the addition of “Their (SSV) concerns are shared by the village’s Lib Dem district councillors, Iris Evans and Alan Dean, who say two other crunch judgements will be made on the same day – for 14 new homes in Cambridge Road and a tyre repair works close by – despite their pleas to council officers as they will be away, along with their Conservative colleague Cllr Joe Rich”. This morning BBC East phoned me. They have picked up the story and may run with it on television this week.

Last Tuesday the council’s chief executive, John Mitchell, replied to Iris’s and my letter. Our counter response sent today to Mr Mitchell may be read here. We think that officers are being inconsistent on several points and that democratic representation will be undermined if the meeting proceeds as planned on August 28th.

 

 

 

   1 Comment

One Response

  1. Geoff Powers says:

    This is getting ridiculous. I think you need round up a group of like-minded fellow-members (of all parties) – and residents ?- and ask for a face to face meeting with the officers (including John Mitchell if need be) to thrash this one out. It won’t look good if key planning applications are passed by a meeting that is barely quorate. Such a situation would reflect badly on officers, members and the authority as a whole. It’s in no one’s interest to allow such a situation to come about. At worst it could possibly lead to drawn out legal repercussions. It sounds that the planning department feels itself under particular pressure to process these macro-planning applications in order to preclude any possible accusation of non-determination. Act in haste and repent at leisure!

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