Letter: Our Borough Councillors Are Responsible Too

Published on: 23 Jun, 2016
Updated on: 23 Jun, 2016

From Janette Panton

In response to comment within: Local MP Says Local Plan is ‘Not Fit for Purpose’

I agree with Cllr Caroline Reeves that councils are under pressure from government, and our MPs should be lobbying the government to protect our countryside before it is too late. But it does not excuse the majority of Conservative councillors who voted to take this draft plan to public consultation knowing they were breaking their promise to protect the green belt in doing so.

It also does not excuse our borough councillors for failing to insist the SHMA was properly scrutinised, that the consultants produced evidence of how such a high housing number was reached and for not insisting that all the permissible constraints were applied to the housing numbers to reduce them accordingly.

Blame the government all you wish, but our borough councillors have an awful lot to answer to.

Responses to Letter: Our Borough Councillors Are Responsible Too

Susan Parker Reply

June 23, 2016 at 4:52 pm

We should have scrutinised the SHMA, and our housing number is too high. There should be constraints applied, and the core number should be subject to review. It isn’t as though the council wasn’t given an opportunity to scrutinise.

After seeking informally to request scrutiny, I proposed full scrutiny at the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (it was not supported) and proposed an amendment for review and revision at the full council meeting (rejected in a recorded vote).

Susan Parker is the ward councillor for Send and leader of the Guildford Greenbelt Group