To; Sarah Bevan Bsc (Hons), Msc, MRTP
Senior Planner
To; Sarah Bevan Bsc (Hons), Msc, MRTP
Senior Planner
From John Grantham……
“As ever there is another challenge ahead and this one is for this Saturday 28th Feb, at Bucky Doo Square.
Could anyone reading this link, very kindly think whether they could please help? (It’s quite a wide-ranging list as I don’t know who would be interested in helping so please don’t be surprised at seeing your name on it!) Or could you recommend names of people who are disenchanted with Cabinet Govt to contact that you think might be ‘askable’ by me for this Saturday please? If the Dorchester experience is anything to go by there will be members of the public making special trips in to vote, (one man went back for his wife too, and then said he was thinking of going back again and bringing the budgerigar in to vote too!) so strongly do they feel about what has happened. Let’s be there to take their signatures. The target of 500 – on a less glacial day than we had in Dorchester where we got nearly 400 – with all this press publicity, should be clearly reachable and will stimulate other efforts…. This IS our chance to make a change…and already the opposition to it was shown in WDDC Council yesterday!
I’ll be stand manager and will get some badges. I’ve booked the site just opposite the Arts Centre entrance – the best one I think. We need people please to help between 10am and 3pm – please phone me on 07990-583167 or email; publicfirstgroup@gmail.com to take a slot. And can you suggest others please?
Many thanks.
Cheers,
John”
Public First Meeting, Dorchester, voted to replace W. Dorset Cabinet govt. by Committee system
What will the public now say at the Electric Palace, Bridport?
FRIDAY 20TH FEBRUARY 7PM
Public speaks first & Panel replies…on how West Dorset District Council applies its Cabinet Government; and on whether to investigate Dorset coming under one unitary authority.
Rt Hon. Oliver Letwin, MP, Conservative; Peter Barton, Green Party; Rachel Rogers, Labour; Ros Kayes, Lib Dems; David Glossop, UKIP; (& WDDC Executive member invited)
Chairman Clive Stafford Smith OBE.
Doors open 6pm.
Meeting ends 9.30pm www.publicfirstgroup.c.uk
Organised by Public First Group – a non-party-political organisation
Dear Mr Greene
(Legal Services Manager, Head of Property & Litigation and Monitoring Officer, WDDC)
RE ADVEARSE PETITION
Thank you for your letter of 22 January which gave your response to the decision of the Chief Executive to refuse to accept our petition. ADVEARSE has considered its response and I am replying on behalf of the group.
We are disappointed that you have failed to give any detailed consideration to the protocol concerning petitions to the Full Council. Most of the letter consists of the list of consultation activities which must have taken at least 2 minutes to copy and paste. We have already received this information on several occasions. We have explained that whilst it might persuade you and colleagues that consultation has been carried out that Bridport Councillors and residents feel that there were failures in the information and consultations process.
We would accept that the Councillors were unlikely to have accepted the demand of the petition and withdrawn Vearse Farm from the Local Plan. This would be especially true granted the particular stage we are at in terms of the Inspection process. We did however wish to achieve two objectives
The latter point is paramount. The local press is giving unprecedented coverage to concerns in the community as a whole about West Dorset District as a Council. In particular it is about the sense that ‘cabinet ‘government is not serving local democracy well.
We have collected names and asked for the debate in accordance with the protocol. What would actually have been wrong in actually having the debate and giving the reason for rejecting its request the points which Matt Prosser and you have given? You have given reasons why the Councillors would reject the request but not why the petition should not have been heard. In my initial response to Matt Prosser I suggested that it was bad politics to reject the petition. Weeks on with yet more negative publicity about a high handed council that remains my view. We will certainly be issuing a press release about the matter.
‘Chief Executives decision’- (page one). We note that no councillors were asked for their opinion. Might it have been useful to get their perspective ? Or outside the cabinet members are Councillors to be treated as stooges?
Conclusion of stage III – Thank you for clarifying that we are at the conclusion and pointing us in the direction of the ombudsman. For the record can we note that despite offers on our behalf for other avenues the Council has chosen to deal with us exclusively by e-mail/letter?
To confirm our next actions
Yours faithfully
ADVEARSE
The recent meeting (7th January 2015) in Dorchester, discussing unitarism for Dorset was videod and the various speakers featured are available for you to view !
https://www.dorsetforyou.com/417230
See ref; WDWP/Ex08
John will be tabling a question on Thursday 8th January (2pm) at South Parks House, Dorchester, challenging the WDDC as to why they have disqualified two petitions (one of which consisted of 1,400 signatures compiled by ADVEARSE opposing development of Vearse Farm) originally due to be presented on that date.
Note; I have recently been on holiday thus no website correspondence of late !
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ADVEARSE have just received a letter from Matt Prosser, Chief Executive at the WDDC. It details in part that……
“…..In conclusion therefore, the petition will not be discussed by the full Council [on the 8th January, 2015]as the matter raised is one that has already been able to go through a separate investigation process through the public examination into the whole plan. The inspector will consider all of the evidence thoroughly before reaching his conclusions on whether the plan is sound. “
The full text can be supplied if requested.
ADVEARSE will be contacting the local media to convey their dissatisfaction on this infringement of the democratic process.