EDDC councillors start to wake up

Rather like Sleepimg Beauty some previously somnolent EDDC councillors appear to be waking up after spending most of their time during this current council asleep.

They are popping up at parish council meetings (particularly to support current planning applications) and their photographs are appearing like a rash in local newspapers.

It wouldn’t have anything to do with council elections getting closer and still no six year land supply would it?

Would this also explain the sudden decision to extend Cranbrook by a further 25% from 6,000 houses to 7,500?

Speaking of which, a new wheeze seems to have made an appearance. We have heard of a local councillor asking EDDC for details of pre-application advice to an applicant and being refused and told to submit A Freedom of Information request – the due date for which would mean the answer (if indeed there was one) would arrive after the application had been to the Development Management Committee!

One thought on “EDDC councillors start to wake up

  1. I was under the impression that, whilst us mere mortals might have to use FoI requests to elicit information from EDDC and are subject to claims of confidentiality or unwillingness to answer the question actually asked or in one case an outright refusal to follow the ruling of the Information Commissioner, councillors were entitled by law to be able to see all information held by the council.

    Indeed, according to http://www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15641%3Acouncillors-rights-of-access-to-information&catid=59%3Agovernance-a-risk-articles&Itemid=27 , “Under common law principles councillors have the right to access information held by their authority where it is reasonably necessary to enable the member to properly perform their duties as a councillor” and Section 100F Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) and The Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 Regulation 16 “any document which (a) is in the possession or under the control of the executive of a local authority; and (b) contains material relating to any business to be transacted at a public meeting, must be available for inspection by any member of the relevant local authority”.

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