Following accusations of councillors betraying the local community over decisions on two planning applications in January made by members of the Fresh Air for Penrith group, that has also seen Code of conduct complaints made against three Westmorland and Furness councillors who sit on the Eden area planning committee after the group claims “they failed to declare a company visit” to the site that was subject of the two planning applications.
Following the accusations and complaints a spokesperson for Westmorland and Furness Council, said: “We are aware of complaints made to us on this issue and have responded to them directly through our official complaints process. With regards to the two planning applications concerning two separate chimney stacks at the Omega premises outside Penrith, the Committee Members were presented with comprehensive written reports on each one, which they read in advance of the meeting.”
“In accordance with adopted committee procedures, both the applicant and those raising objections attended the committee meeting and were provided with an opportunity to present their cases.”
“The purpose of this engagement is to allow a fair opportunity for each party to focus on the specific cases and to draw attention to any particular matters relating to the development proposals that either comply with or are in conflict with policies or other material planning considerations. Written objections were also summarised in the officer reports.”
“All of the above is in accordance with the adopted committee procedures of the Council and are in compliance with relevant statutes and guidance.”
“As far as the processing of these two agenda items is concerned, all parties were treated the same and offered equal opportunities for a fair hearing at the committee meeting. The applications were advertised locally in accordance with statutory and locally adopted procedures. All public representations received in relation to both applications were considered as part of the planning officer’s assessment and were reported in the agenda documents.”
The council claims the visit to the Omega premises last September had been pre-arranged to enable members accompanied by officers to gain a clearer understanding of the processes undertaken at the plant, the council spokesperson added that “no discussions took place concerning any live planning applications.”
The code of conduct complaint against three of the planning committee councillors will be subject to consideration by the councils monitoring officer and and independent person who will consider if the complaints should be progressed to a formal code of conduct enquiry or not taken further.
At the councils Standards and Governance Committee meeting last month it was revealed the council currently has a further 16 code of conduct complaint files open against multiple councillors across the district.
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