Story in today’s Times, page 29:
Babergh Council, Suffolk. Developers Knight Developers threatened to take legal action as the accused a councillor of being “ideologically opposed to greenfield/greenbelt development” and having an “ideologic hostility to developers and the planning system as a whole”.
Amongst other things, the councillor was said to have made a Twitter comment saying “Write to your MP to stop the bulldozer and the concrete mixer shattering our country life”.
He is also alleged to have said “Wake up everyone. Did you know that local government financing is now predicated on a bribe to build more new homes threatening our village life”.
The developer said that he should be stopped from voting as he was “incapable of considering the proposals objectively”.
The councillor said “It shows that developers will take any step they can … to interfere with democracy”. … It is my prerogative and duty to comment on policy. I have been consistently against the New Homes Bonus which totally distorts planning procedures and is going to be another poll tax for the Conservatives in the countryside.”
The council ignored the threat and the councillor voted, though the application was eventually approved. Villagers are considering a judicial review.
East Devon Watch 
One of the key points here echos what I have been saying for a few months – that EDDC has used the New Homes Bribe … ooops … I mean Bonus … to prop up its finances for some years.
Using a one off or time-limited capital receipt to bridge a gap in revenue funding is not a great idea – over several years they end up with a large gap between revenue receipts (council tax) and revenue expenditure, an increasingly large gap which you are filling with funding which is one-off. If that one-off funding ever stops, then you have a big problem.
As part of its austerity measures, the government has now stated that it is not only going to stop the New Homes Bonus, but also the local government revenue grant – and EDDC is now facing the consequences of its short-sighted financial thinking by raising council tax by large amounts.
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