Councillors Told ‘Take a Good Look at Yourselves’ Over Chantry Wood Fiasco

Published on: 8 Mar, 2019
Updated on: 10 Mar, 2019

Chantries Camp Site

Guildford council plans for a money-making lease of the Chantry Wood Campsite collapsed last night (March 7, 2019) after a withering attack by a residents’ spokesman on the Executive committee.

The Conservative-ruled Executive, facing borough election on May 2, was forced to agree any decision would be postponed for a year to allow further consideration and proper public consultation.

The council had been planning to lease the campsite to a forest school. This was approved by the Executive on January 8, although  little, if any, public consultation had been mounted. Indeed, GBC meeting papers included consultation as an option, but appeared to decide that should be rejected because “user groups are expected to be resistant”. Nonetheless, the Executive had agreed to a “local consultation”.

Kevin Rye

At last night’s meeting, in a no-holds-barred speech, Kevin Rye, an individual resident, said: “The paperwork concerning this matter has been dense, difficult to grasp and often contradictory. The public statements from the elected members of the council have contained falsehood and even more contradiction.

“I would like to pay credit to the hundreds of parents, families and individuals, community groups and schools who have spoken up publicly and, in some cases, privately on this and who have refused to be satisfied with the answers they have received from the council.

“The aim of everyone I have communicated with about the future of the site is clear: the continuation of camping at the Chantry Wood campsite for the community of Guildford. How that is done is for the right and proper process to work out, but the process must be fair and seen to be so.

“All of the objections over the conduct of the council during the period of the so-called consultation are dealt with by the formal letter of complaint that I submitted by hand yesterday to the leader, Cllr Paul Spooner, and to the managing director, James Whiteman.

“Finally, about the conduct of certain members of Guildford Borough Council. Many of you here this evening need to take a good look at yourselves and your conduct.

“You have acted as though you are Teflon-coated and can operate outside the normal boundaries set by democratic structures. You have behaved as though you are directors of a private company divesting yourselves of an unprofitable venture, not stewards of a community asset.

“Indeed, there are times when I believe you have come very close to misconduct in public office, because residents, local taxpayers and people who care about our local area have been spoken to as though we are fools, and that simply won’t do.

“You, all of you, regardless of your party of allegiance, are accountable to us. This is hardly a revolutionary concept but one that many of you have forgotten. Maybe you are Teflon-coated and maybe I am wrong and you don’t have to answer for your actions but I, for one, hope that you live to regret this at the ballot box. On that, I do think that I speak for everyone.”

Cllr Nigel Manning

Nigel Manning (Con, Ash Vale), lead councillor for finance and asset management, an Executive member responsible for overseeing the Chantry Wood Campsite decision, claimed the criticism was politically based because of the looming election.

He said: “When we made the January decision, it was clearly on the understanding that public access would be maintained. We were looking [at] the forest [school] to effectively take it over. I think then the communication went somewhat awry.

“What dismays me is the level of untruths and other information that has been put out there clearly to make people rise to something which is an issue but is not the sort of issue that is coming across because of the lies that have been spread. I am disappointed, but we are in that time of the four-year [electoral] cycle. I still find it disappointing.”

Cllr Paul Spooner

But council leader Paul Spooner (Con, Ash) was conciliatory, admitting responsibility for the council’s part in the disagreement. He added: “The only point I would make is that I am not sure the communications effectively reflected what we discussed and agreed, and that, I think, didn’t help.”

Then came a lexical bombshell. Cllr Gordon Jackson, an experienced solicitor, said: “I think the word ‘lease’ is being used in the rather broad layman’s term. I would be very, very surprised if, in fact, there would be a lease in these circumstances. It would almost certainly be a licence of some form.

Cllr Gordon Jackson

“It will be much more of a contractual arrangement, with a ‘right to use’, rather than any disposal of an asset in the way that was being suggested.”

There followed a rushed conversation between Cllr Spooner and the head of legal services, Rob Parkin, who had nodded in agreement at Cllr Jackson, and the amended recommendations were quickly re-worded. This important oversight was not explained.

Cllr Nils Christiansen

This morning (March 8), deselected Cllr Nils Christiansen (Ind, Holy Trinity), who was at the Executive meeting, emailed his ward residents: “There was a general acknowledgement [at the meeting] that the whole process had been poorly handled, and that communication was poor. It was agreed not to do anything for 12 months so the campsite will stay as is for now, and will now be reopened for bookings.

“The proposal to lease the campsite to a private provider was also overturned, once the Executive realised that a lease is, to all intents and purposes, a privatisation. This is not what they had intended.

“The Executive decided they would like to licence some of the space on the site to a forest club within certain times to be agreed, starting at the earliest in 12 months. I understand that this proposal will now go out for a proper consultation and I would imagine will be much more acceptable to residents.”

Objector Mr Rye wrote to fellow campaigners: “The move by the Executive appeared to be a change in tone and approach that I think everyone will welcome. We detected some genuine regret of how poor the process has been to date, on the part of Cllr Paul Spooner in particular, and that has to be welcomed.

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