Surely they all took a bung? “Oh no we didn’t.” Oh…
Local residents have been steaming and venting their spleens on Milford and Godalming Facebook groups over Waverley Councillors’ decision to grant planning for 200 houses on Milford Golf Course. After a three hour debate on Wednesday, the decision was made 10 for versus 5 against, with 3 abstentions.
Yes you heard it right – Three Councillors sat through THREE HOURS of debate and then still had the gall to abstain.*
How could they have done this? Gutless or what?
Why did they vote for this in the wake against such an avalanche of public outcry?
How did key local councillor Dennis Leigh keep Shtum after ranting vociferously against the development? What, we hear you cry? He abstained too?? This beggars belief! Had the Tory Whip – Councillor Michael Goodriddance been working overtime before the meeting?
No wonder local residents added 2 + 2 together and made 5, with many drawing the conclusion that Councillors were receiving big brown envelopes of cash. Surely there must be a reason for them to ignore the public so skilfully?!
As one resident after another came to the Bung Conclusion on Social Media, local top Tory Waverley and Surrey County Councillor Peter Martin was forced to fire up his Facebook and defend his fellow councillors:
Regrettably, we have to agree with him. The way Councillors approach these meetings is more cock-up than conspiracy and, although we make no excuses for them, are, as one said: “between a rock and a hard place.” Otherwise, you would have to bung a lot of officers and councillors, and Statutory Agencies – agencies that are completely overloaded with work, and half the time don’t even do their investigations properly. These things would certainly leak to our ears, wouldn’t they! We’d happily write an invoice too!
We heard one unguarded and frustrated SCC highway engineer say – SUDS – on developments (Sustainable Urban Drainage Schemes) just don’t work! What an admission to make in public!
As one local resident pointed out – the damage was done as soon as the land was taken out of the Green Belt by Waverley’s Local Plan Part 1. The developer didn’t need to bung anybody after that – in fact, they might have got a £5Million CIL discount by getting it in before 1st March!
*We understand one councillor did arrive late so wasn’t permitted to vote as he hadn’t heard the full debate. He too spoke against. The Committee acts in a Quasi-Judicial style you see. Not that one particular Farnham Residents’ Councillor would agree. He regularly accuses Waverley of ignoring environmental law. Which it appears, they can continue doing as long as Natural England and the Government says so.
They are like the elected body in the big house up the road. More voted in Brexit to leave than to stay in a turn out bigger than any other election. Democracy said at that time leave, the MPs being gutless as they are including local ones, decided to do what their view was with one who openly said her constituents were wrong so she would vote in Parliament as she wanted.
The trouble is borough politics is the same, it does not matter what Joe public wants, the Councillors vote what they want, not what is wanted by those they represent.
The whole political system needs to be reformed, preferably by the public on the street being in the committee in which to reform not the civil servants on their big salaries.
DONT SAY VOTE THE OTHER WAY AT THE NEXT ELECTION AS CURRENTLY THERE IS NOT ONE PARTY WHO IS SAVY ENOUGH TO TAKE THE MANTLE.
It’s to late now to save the countryside around Waverley and getting more expensive to use it with car park charges
A very jaundiced view that, sadly, we have to agree with. Is it time for us to have a council of Independent minded people. Councillors who represent the views of the people of Waverley?
Let’s face it. The residents of Waverley were consulted on where they wished to see homes built. They overwhelmingly decided that the largest brown field site in the borough – an aerodrome – was that place. A huge site – around 650 acres on an A – Road. Delay after delay has allowed Horsham to build many thousands of new homes, and much of that traffic is using the A281 now – and still not one home has been built at Dunsfold thanks to the CPRE and Protect Our Waverley whose leaders live alongside the site.
You are right – it is too late to save the countryside.
Soon, if YW has its way, there will be hardly any local representation on its planning committee’s. The officers’ will decide, with the nod of few well-chosen Tory members who will do their Central Government masters’ bidding. To turn the countryside over to concrete, offices over to residential dwellings, and shops too! As Oliver Hardy would say – that’s another fine mess you’ve got us into.
Let’s not forget they voted for a development that they know is undeliverable!
I’m in no doubt that brown envelopes of cash have not changed hands so our local politicians are not corrupt in the sense that they have not committed a criminal act – they may be stupid but they’re not that stupid.
But they are corrupt in the “state of decay; rotten or putrid” sense. As a community we get the politicians we deserve; in a world where no one chooses to engage in civic or political life or to vote in local elections then very few people of vision, integrity or intelligence want to become Councillors. Parties cannot find candidates. And the bottom of the barrel scrapings that the Conservative party has presented us with in recent years, some of whom were elected unopposed, are all the evidence we need.