Letter: Why Did Cllr Rigg Complain Instead of Taking Action Himself?

Published on: 6 Mar, 2021
Updated on: 6 Mar, 2021

From: Christopher Jay

In response to: Council’s Project Handling Bungled, Committee Told in Shock Outburst

I watched the 20 minutes of Cllr John Rigg’s complaints about the problems he had trying to come to terms with the borough’s major projects. At first, I thought his complaints were a well-reasoned summary of the problems he had dealing with council officers and their reluctance/slowness/obstruction (my words) to give him documents and answers or otherwise help him.

Cllr Rigg, as he said, has been involved with property since the 1970s and is therefore presumably in his element when dealing with the major projects (and regeneration) portfolio.

I then began to speculate on why he was complaining to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Did he hope they would come to his assistance and challenge the council’s officers on his behalf?

Was he explaining why he could not fulfil his portfolio duty to oversee major projects? Was he admitting defeat in the face of an admittedly difficult oversight role?

The answer is surely that he should himself challenge the officers he believes should be helping him as an elected councillor. If he believes they are dragging their feet he should obviously keep on at them until they act or he should find out why they cannot rather than complaining to the committee in public.

Cllr Rigg has an important portfolio which I hope he can, in due course, fulfil.

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