In future Waverley Councillors – put your hands up and shut up! You have been warned!
Chairman of the Joint Planning Committee Peter Isherwood rebuked councillors who dared question and speak up for the people they, supposedly, represent.
HE WARNED, if they wanted to question officer, do it before the meeting.
Translated:
In Private, where the public cannot hear either the questions or answers.
Why?
“Because,” he said, ‘we have a considerable number of applications coming before us in the coming weeks that share common ground, and they will be dealt with together.
Translate:
Just stick up your hand and approve everything. Particularly if it is in Farnham or Cranleigh and the surrounding areas in the East.
Oh! and, the officers will be going on holiday! But they are doing their best to provide reports.
In view of the importance of the Local Plan and numerous appeals and public inquiries, we would have thought all leave would have been cancelled – bit like the police, fire brigade and hospital services, in a crisis!
He said, it had to be borne in mind some applicants may not agree with the long consultation period, and may appeal for non-determination.
Translate: Officers aren’t progressing applications quickly enough!
(Ah! he must mean Thakeham Homes who didn’t even wait for its application to be considered locally – and is going straight to a public inquiry on July 18 for almost 500 homes in Alfold adjacent to Dunsfold airfield.
He warned councillors to “leave their hobby horses at home” and concentrate on planning criteria.
Translated:
In other words, put your hands up, follow the officers’ recommendations, shut up, put up, and tell the public who elected you – that you might as well pee into the wind for all the notice that is taken of you by the officers or the Chairman.
Oops, we forgot, peeing into the wind will be more appropriate now as ‘YW’ has shut the public lavatories in Farncombe, Godalming and Haslemere!
He then said: Would you Adam an Eve it!
“I have no wish in any way to curtail debate.”
Has ‘Your Waverley gone into panic mode this week due to the examination in public of its Local Plan?
Because a Government Inspector says the borough may be required to take some of Woking’s unmet housing need, and needs to up its own housing requirements.
Fresh from his foray into Mid Sussex where he gave a large uplift in housing numbers from 800 a year to well over 1,000, the same Inspector, Jonathan Bore, has ruled it must accept housing for Brighton, the South Coast and Crawley.
At the start of a six-day Inquiry into Waverley’s Local Plan the same Inspector warned Waverley, it too, would have to accept the unmet needs of other boroughs!
So in future – if it’s green, doesn’t move, floods every year and the smell of sewage permeates through homes – it really doesn’t matter at all.
Below is a clip of Councillor Isherwood speaking at the Joint Planning Committee on Wednesday:
Thakeham Homes’ controversial application to build 54 homes on the flood plain in Elmbridge Road was postponed for further reports at Wednesday’s planning meeting. Mainly due passionate and hard-hitting representations made by Cranleigh Parish Council/Cranleigh Civic Society and a couple of borough councillors.
It was left to Stewart Stennett; Liz Townsend and Mary Foryszewski to slate the application and for Councillor Stephen Mulliner to call for the postponement.
Judging by the clip in future there won’t be much arguing within ‘Your Waverley’ because representing the public’s views is Verboten!
A report, including clips of the decision to postpone will be included in future posts.
Dog….Tail ???? Who is wagging who?
I think we all know who is wagging who at WBC don’t we? If they cannot bully councillors into doing their bidding the officers use scare tactics to knock them into shape.
Why don’t councillors just give up and let the officers run the show – after all our elected representatives are just window dressing to make us believe we have some sort of a say!
Just think of the money we could save!!! The only problem is there ARE some good ones as mentioned above – And of course Cllr Hyman – it is just those that don’t raise their voices – when they should.. I would also think it is worth the W Webbers looking more deeply into how many committees Mr Isherwood can sit on – He does seem to have rather a broad remit – perhaps he doesn’t have the time with so many and should maybe spread the load!
Yes, he should, most definitely be spreading his load somewhere else! But then, you don’t get to be the Chairman of a Planning Committee without being an officers’ patsy. Because they use their casting vote to support the officers’ recommendations when need arises.
Don’t fret, you will be watching Councillor Isherwood’s hand going up quite regularly from now on, particularly if you live in the East of the borough and here in Farnham too, where we will gradually choke to death on traffic fumes!