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| The Chesterfield House (AKA Twin Towers) development now underway |
In an email to Debra Norman, Brent Council's Director of Legal and HR Services, Cllr John Duffy, standing as an independent in Kilburn ward, has sought further information on councillors' meetings with developers and their public relations advisers.
Duffy's email sets out his concerns and questions:
Dear Ms Norman ,
I wish to raise the issue of meetings between Cabinet Members and
developers.
I asked you in email on the 3/10/2017 "if any
meeting with Terrapin involving planning officers, regeneration officers and
Councillors was declared during the application to redeveloped Chesterfield
House.” you replied" No meetings with Terrapin have been
declared by officers or councillors other than the meeting of 9.5.17."
Later you confirmed in an email on the 23/03/2018 saying
"I confirm that there was a meeting between Terrapin
Communications and their client RSS which took place on Wednesday 5th April
2016 between 10-30-11-30 am. The meeting took place in the leaders
officers in the Civic Centre and was attended for the council by Cllr Butt and
Cllr Aktar Choudhury. (Operational Director Regeneration)".You also
stated in your email that " the diaries of the council attendees
have been cross referenced to confirm the meeting took place on the date .
As I have said above I asked you in my email on the 3/10/2017
"if any meeting with Terrapin involving planning officers,
regeneration officers and Councillors was declared during the application to
redeveloped Chesterfield House.” you replied" No
meetings with Terrapin have been declared by officers or councillors other than
the meeting of 9.5.17." The correct answer should have been yes
a meeting took place on Wednesday 5th April 2016 in the Civic Centre
with Terrapin .The 5th April 2016 was the morning the application for the redeveloped
of Chesterfield House was to be heard by the planning
committee.
Chesterfield House was a controversial planning application
because of the lack of amenity space in the development and the lack of
affordable housing, falling well below the target set by the Mayor of
London.
The controversial plan was passed at the committee by 4 votes
to 2 with 2 abstentions with Cllr Marquis, Cllr Maurice voting against
and Cllrs Agha, Chroudhary, Colaccicco and Mahmood voting for the development
and Cllr Patel and Ezeajughi abstaining.
Later Terrapin Communications placed an ad on their web-site
saying
TERRAPIN AIDS BRENT COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENTS
Residents in Brent are set to benefit from an exciting new
community centre along with other public improvements thanks to a new
development in the Borough. Terrapin Communications helped Hub Group secure
planning consent for the scheme. Designed by Macerator
Lavington, it will also include 239 new residential units in two new buildings,
one twenty six storeys, the other twenty one storeys.
Ms Norman , you may think this is an issue about Terrapin
Communications and how they operate. Well it is not.
I am concerned about the accuracy of the information I was
provided with by officers. My concerns are three fold did any member of the
Cabinet speak to members of the planning committee to express support for the
application. I hope you will clarify if that took place by asking members of
the committee.
However my main concerns is not about councillors, it’s about how officers
are setting -up meeting between developers and Cabinet members. These senior
officers could not answer a simple members inquiry about a meeting, to the
point they forgot the day and the year the meeting took place. When all
they had to do was check their diaries .
My third concern is the confusion about who attended the meeting ,
as along with Cllr Warren I wrote to Terrapin about the meeting which took
place on April 5th 2016 and they replied they had no meetings with
officers or Cllr Butt on that date or any other date.
Cllr Butt and Cllr Tatler (Lead Member for Regeneration) also
stated they received hospitality from Terrapin. 09/05/17 - Three
course meal with developers from the construction industry. Estimated value
between £30-40. Received from Terrapin Communications, London.
However Terrapin denied they paid for any hospitality for Cllr
Butt or Cllr Tatler on that date or any other date.
Ms Norman , I am sure you appreciate when you are dealing with
millions of pounds worth of investment, it’s important that Councillors
are told by officers, who they are meeting, who is paying for the
hospitality and [ensure they] are not taken advantage or misled. These meetings cannot be
dismissed by the legal department as informal and therefore need no agendas or
minutes or details of who attended.
Therefore I would ask you to undertake a full inquiry ASAP to
get to the truth of who met who and why. Also why Cllr Butt and Cllr Tatler's
entered the wrong who was paying for their lunch.
I would also ask that the inquiry is not undertake by internal
audit, as I have no faith in their Independents.
Regards
John Duffy
Debra Norman responded regarding the April 5th meeting and guideliens on meetings with developers:
The
meeting was not minuted as it was informal and so the discussion did not need
to be recorded for the purposes of any formal processes.
You have asked whether
there is a Code of Practice in respect of meetings with developers.
The Planning Code of
Practice has for a long time contained provisions which cover approaches from
developers and others to planning committee members. In January of
this year a section was added to the Code (at the request of the Leader) to
cover meetings with developers. It was not in place at the time of the
meeting to which you refer. The new section states as follows:
Discussions between members
and meetings with developers or their representatives
28
Provided Members comply with the practical requirements of this code and the
requirements of the Members’ Code of Conduct, there is no legal rule against
Members, whether of the same group or not, discussing strategic planning
issues, general policy issues or even future decisions.
29 Similarly, joint
working, both formal and informal, and dialogue between Members of the Planning
Committee and Members of the Cabinet is recognised as a legitimate reality of
local government life. Members of the Planning Committee need to ensure that
when making planning decisions, they make up their own mind and on the planning
merits.
30
Relevant Members of the Cabinet are entitled to meet with
developers or their representatives and other relevant stakeholders as part of their role to
promote Brent and the regeneration, development and other commercial
opportunities available in the borough. In doing so, Members of the Cabinet
must always act in the best interests of the council and ultimately in the
public interest, and in accordance with the high standards of conduct expected
of Members, to ensure that the integrity of the planning process is not
undermined and the council is not brought into disrepute.
31
Reasonable care and judgement should be exercised in
relation to such meetings, taking into account the purpose of the meeting, the
nature of the issues to be discussed and the timing. In appropriate
circumstances, exercising proper judgement may include ensuring a record is
kept of the meeting. Cabinet Members should make sure it is understood that
their participation in marketing events or commercial discussions is separate
from the administrative and regulatory roles of Members of the Planning Committee.
32
Although Members of the Cabinet are entitled to
express support or opposition to development
proposed in the borough, they cannot use their position as a Member improperly
to confer on or secure for any person, an advantage or disadvantage.
33 As pre-application
discussions or discussions about undecided applications require particular
care, the following additional rules apply. An officer must make the
arrangements for such meetings, attend and write notes. The meeting arrangements
must include agreeing an agenda in advance
