Councillors, council officers and secret deals
Below is the text of an email sent to all EDDC councillors this evening:
Dear Councillors,
This email is being sent to all councillors and will appear on the Stand Up For Seaton website (www.standup4seaton.blogspot.com).
Many of you will have seen the BBC1 television programme on the pros and cons of supermarkets aired on BBC1 this evening and the situation which pertained in North Norfolk District Council.
Irrespective of the pros and cons of this issue, you will have seen that, in the case of Sheringham in Norfolk, it was not possible for councillors to stop or even debate about the building of a major supermarket development in the town because two of the officers of North Norfolk District Council (its former Chief Executive and a Planning Officer) had already entered into a legally binding secret agreement with a major supermarket without consulting councillors or other officers. When an inquiry was held it was found that nothing illegal had ocurred but that appropriate checks and balances had not been in place to stop this happening and it could happen again unless such checks and balances were created. I gather that the current Chief Executive operates under very different rules.
You will recall that in November 2006 the Executive Board of EDDC was requested to devolve decisions about EDDC's land on the Seaton Regeneration area to an officer of the council and one councillor (a portfolio holder) but that, due to a demonstration which took place at that meeting, this was changed by the Executive so that the whole Executive should have to discuss and vote on this issue rather than devolving it to only two people. It was however still decided at that Executive Board meeting that, should planning consent be given by EDDC to the current developer, then on that same day EDDC would sell its land to that developer to "facilitate development" without putting it on the open market.
As councillors - representing the interests of your voters - it is imperative that you ensure that no such agreements similar to those in North Norfolk currently exist within EDDC and that they are not allowed to exist in future.
posted by Fighting for East Devon's future @ 8:17 pm
4 Comments:
Yes, there was some moments at the 15th November meeting where they tried to explain about the land deal being separate from any planning application, and within 20 days, after a 4 year gestation...Lo! a planning application...
Hmm, only the fishy smell could be explained away by the proximity to the sea.
Apparently, it is quite OK to be both gamekeeper and poacher, as long as you do the two jobs properly at the same time.
Were you a politician in a similar situation and had, for example, a lot of stocks and shares, you would have to hand over your interests to a "blind trust" - a group of experts who would take decisions about your stocks and shares on your behalf and who would not be allowed to consult you about their decisions. When you stopped being a politician, they would then hand them back to you.
This is interesting, because a lot of the time people generally wonder how underhand councillors are. (I'm speaking in general terms accross the country) But this shows that it's the council employee's - and lets not forget they are employee's - who are the bad element.
I'm sure there is an element of both in all councils, but as joe public, I hate all underhandedness.
I'm sure the people of Seaton think this too!
I can understand why it happens. A couple of people meeting for half an hour - job done - quick, inexpensive, undemocratic. Committee - ten meetings, 6 months, no decision, grinds on. Slower, more expensive - democratic.
The trick is to speed up the committee system (better information more quickly, better trained councillors,good chairing, quick follow through) not to replace it with decisions made at speed behind closed doors.
Why bother with councillors if you can make decisions without them?
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