Sirs,
I would like to point out that only specially selected Councillors from Marlborough Town Council received an e-mail inviting them to the meeting held in his house at twelve noon on the Sunday 31st May one day before the crucial planning meeting to discuss the road closures on Monday 1st June 2015.
Despite being the newly elected Chairman of Planning for Marlborough I was not informed or invited to this meeting. Further to this the Mayor Cllr Rose, Cllr Light, Cllr Dobson and Cllr Allen similarly were not informed or invited to the meeting. Indeed I would not have attended had I been invited and have it on good authority my four colleagues named here all feel the same. As I and Councillor Dobson were on holiday on the 1st June we were unable to take part in the debate and only learned of the debacle about the meeting on our return last Tuesday.
I have no problem with applicants stating their case for or against certain planning applications but it needs to be done in full public view with total transparity with both the applicant and anybody wishing to oppose the application given equal time to present their case. I believe that it is regrettable that certain Town Councillors were invited to a private meeting at the applicant’s house just a day before the meeting when the Town Council were due to discuss and agree their comments on the application. At best it can hardly be considered something that inspires confidence in our elected representatives.
Yours,
Councillor Marian Hannaford-Dobson
Marlborough
Link to ‘The truth about Councillor Fogg’s pre-meeting for Councillors on Jazz Festival road closures’