Finally off the fence

Yesterday, the Leader of the Council took an opportunity to say how very very cross he was about the Eco-Town proposal.

He went on to tell the gathered council that the cabinet had already made this clear in October and if we (the opposition members) had read the papers we would have seen that.

He went on to do something that he is doing more and more as he starts to realise that people are keeping track of him and his council and that there is real opposition to his administration. He did a controlled burst of ranting and letting off steam.

It would seem that he does not feel that it is helpful to involve the media in situations such as the Darringfield proposal and he criticised me for doing that.

By all accounts it all got pretty snarky.

Shame of it was that I was not there to see him doing his act. I was travelling on business and only had time to follow this through today.

Anyway after looking at the cabinet papers that he had referred to I penned the following which I then circulated as an open e letter to all members of the council.

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Subject: Open Letter Cllr Box - Wakefield Metropolitan District Council and Eco Towns

Dear Councillor Box,

I have revisited the cabinet papers of 30th October and as a result have four simple questions for you.

Following the cabinets meeting of the 30th October, other than an agreement to endorse the options appraisal that WMDC should submit a Growth Point Status proposal for the Five Towns and your plans “for an urban extension” with up to 19,000 carbon neutral homes over ten years, there is no indication of any clear action to communicate your groups view on the Eco-Towns issue to government.

1 When, where and how did WMDC formally notify DCLG that it did not wish to participate in their Eco-Towns proposal and the Wakefield view that such a town could not be achieved within the existing spatial policy framework?

2 When the government advised WMDC on the 11th of January that there was a proposal for an Eco Town that had been put forward that impacted the eastern side of the district in Ward 13 why did WMDC, unlike other authorities take no action to inform or brief elected members or the people that could be impacted?

3 When on the 18th of January I specifically asked Cllr Jeffrey for information about the proposal for an Eco Town called Darringfield (a question submitted by email which was also copied to you) why did she wait two weeks before referring me to officers instead of finding out for herself?

4 I understand from colleagues that the Eco-Town matter and this councils opposition to it was only finally discussed in cabinet on the 12th of February in time for your press release on the 13th , why did you not act more decisively to resolve this, why was this scheduled for a point after the government had planned to shortlist?

Colleagues tell me that you were unhappy that the media became involved in this process and you criticised my actions in bringing this to their attention. It seems to me that but for John Grogan MP releasing the information and for Selby District briefing their elected members, the people of Wakefield would still be in the dark about this situation and only now can they start to comprehend the likely impact of an Eco-Town on the district if government chooses to overrule you. and if Housing Growth Point Status for the Five Towns is accepted.

You talk of open government and have several press officers at your disposal, I would have thought that if you had wished people to know about this situation in a more timely manner you could have done something about it.



Geoff Walsh,
Councillor - Pontefract South

Deputy Leader - Conservative Group WMDC
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If he had actually got his act together he would have found that we could have given him a lot of support.

In any case I am determined to see that folk on my patch get consulted and that the people of Wakefield are not let down by this lot.

This will go on and on until we get to the bottom of this fiasco.