| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Planning application notices | |
| Posted by: | Paul Corcoran | |
| Date/Time: | 15/07/20 09:45:00 |
| What I was told was that Cllr Curran wasn't annoyed about the coverage of the Boathouse issue per se but the report that said the redevelopment and the building of the Barnes Walkway were to be paid for out of the borough's School Expansion Fund. The council leader claimed this was fake news, demanded retraction and threatened to set his learned friends on the site. The report remains available online. Steve Curran's behaviour seems bizarre because the use of the school budget apparently had cross party support. It wasn't likely to be used and grabbing it for these projects allowed them to proceed at a time when otherwise money wouldn't have been available. The Conservatives were okay with it because the money was being spent in Chiswick. Perhaps he hoped that in the absence of political opposition to the move it would pass unnoticed. I don't think it is the case that Hounslow don't put planning notices here because the site doesn't qualify as a newspaper. The current government advice is very explicit on this matter. The latest Coronavirus (COVID-19): planning update guidance says “if local newspapers are not circulating in their area, authorities should seek to use local online news portals in the first instance”. I don't know what the situation is for Boston Gardens or Brentford in general but the Chronicle and Informer hasn't been seen in Chiswick for most of this year with copies not available even before lockdown. Hounslow can't seriously argue that if some copies are available somewhere in the borough that constitutes 'circulating in their area.' I know Adam will always insist on the good faith of the planning authority and knows the department in Hounslow from the inside. BrentfordTw8.com may not have the readership of ChiswickW4.com but most people I know in TW8 are avid readers and it seems to have a decent reach as well as regularly covering planning stories. If the borough genuinely wanted to ensure people were being made aware of what was being planned in their area they would use it. There seem to me two possible explanations for them not doing so, they want to minimise awareness of applications to reduce their workload or they have been told by Steve Curran not to heed government advice because of his personal vendetta. Either way pretty shabby. |