Back in January this year, after a series of text messages with Councillor King, I posted a suggestion on the Warwick & Leamington CLP forum. My argument was that the Labour (and Green) councillors on the planning committee of Warwick District Council had voted for a change to the planning permission for the Taylor Wimpey development at Union View which would cause chaos and disruption for residents of Hatton, Hatton Park, Hatton Green, Hatton Station and Shrewley.
I'm posting this now because the chaos and disruption continues to this day and the underlying issue has not been addressed.
The issues are, of course, not merely the officers’ proposal which was seconded by Councillor King and then nodded through by the planning committee with barely a murmur. The bare murmur in fact came from a Conservative councillor, and his thorough and analytical presentation to the committe was ignored because the officers had backed the developers and the councillors had, in the main, not done any homework.
Had they done so, they would have been minded and able to challenge the officers and the developers and refuse the application. But it is clear from watching the video of the meeting that, with the exception of Councillor Phillips, no-one had looked at the big picture nor examined the details. Certainly the Labour representative was unaware of the implications of the decision so casually made.
The issue continues to be a cause of major concern to my neighbours and the rest of the Hatton population. This discontent is being exploited by the Conservatives who are blaming the Green/Labour coalition for their distress. My sense is that it will adversely affect Labour’s chances in the local elections next year. Some of us worked hard earlier this year to gain a seat or two in the Budbrooke ward, and came close. Unfortunately, I know some who voted Labour in the WDC election will not do so again in the CC election in 2025.
As a long-standing member of the Labour party, longer-standing than many on the District Council, I have often argued for a proper relationship between electors and elected representatives. Once a member becomes a Councillor via the hard work of many local comrades, they disappear into a self-contained bubble. The rest of us have no role and no say. Were you, for example, consulted on the coalition with the Greens? Or the proposal for the merger of WDC and Stratford?
This is not intended to be ad hominem, but Councillor King, who seconded the egregious motion which has prompted all this, is a councillor for Leamington Clarendon. He is not actually on the Planning Committee but was, at the time, a substitute for a councillor who couldn’t make it.
Nevertheless, if he is sitting in judgement on matters relating to the other side of Warwick, he should surely consult Labour members in that part of the district before he casts his vote. At the very least, he should have ascertained the feelings of the residents affected.
And the same principle should apply to all our councillors.
Today from the everysmith vaults: Seven Last Words, played by The Lindsays. I've always regarded this as a secular piece and I'm thinking of using the Intro for a secular broadcast. Listen out.
I'm posting this now because the chaos and disruption continues to this day and the underlying issue has not been addressed.
The issues are, of course, not merely the officers’ proposal which was seconded by Councillor King and then nodded through by the planning committee with barely a murmur. The bare murmur in fact came from a Conservative councillor, and his thorough and analytical presentation to the committe was ignored because the officers had backed the developers and the councillors had, in the main, not done any homework.
Had they done so, they would have been minded and able to challenge the officers and the developers and refuse the application. But it is clear from watching the video of the meeting that, with the exception of Councillor Phillips, no-one had looked at the big picture nor examined the details. Certainly the Labour representative was unaware of the implications of the decision so casually made.
The issue continues to be a cause of major concern to my neighbours and the rest of the Hatton population. This discontent is being exploited by the Conservatives who are blaming the Green/Labour coalition for their distress. My sense is that it will adversely affect Labour’s chances in the local elections next year. Some of us worked hard earlier this year to gain a seat or two in the Budbrooke ward, and came close. Unfortunately, I know some who voted Labour in the WDC election will not do so again in the CC election in 2025.
As a long-standing member of the Labour party, longer-standing than many on the District Council, I have often argued for a proper relationship between electors and elected representatives. Once a member becomes a Councillor via the hard work of many local comrades, they disappear into a self-contained bubble. The rest of us have no role and no say. Were you, for example, consulted on the coalition with the Greens? Or the proposal for the merger of WDC and Stratford?
This is not intended to be ad hominem, but Councillor King, who seconded the egregious motion which has prompted all this, is a councillor for Leamington Clarendon. He is not actually on the Planning Committee but was, at the time, a substitute for a councillor who couldn’t make it.
Nevertheless, if he is sitting in judgement on matters relating to the other side of Warwick, he should surely consult Labour members in that part of the district before he casts his vote. At the very least, he should have ascertained the feelings of the residents affected.
And the same principle should apply to all our councillors.
Today from the everysmith vaults: Seven Last Words, played by The Lindsays. I've always regarded this as a secular piece and I'm thinking of using the Intro for a secular broadcast. Listen out.
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