| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Hounslow's appearance in Rotten Boroughs | |
| Posted by: | Adam Beamish | |
| Date/Time: | 15/06/12 09:15:00 |
| I saw the article myself yesterday after Vanessa flagged it up. When will they learn ?. At the same time, this type of thing in my view is an inevitable consequence of Councillors being far too heavily influenced by a feeling of 'duty' to their constituents. That isn't meant as a criticism, I have a great deal of respect for the balancing act Councillors have to try to perform. I was acting at an appeal hearing on Tuesday relating to a housing development where, despite the Council commissioning a number of professional surveys (at the clients expense) relating to parking capacity using the Council's preferred methodology and those surveys all concluding there was free capacity, Councillors had refused the application on the grounds that insufficient evidence had been provided to demonstrate that there was free capacity !. The Council turned up to defend its appeal without any Highways Officer present, and tried to base it's whole case on picking holes in how it had conducted its own surveys and its own preferred methodology Needless to say I ended up making a costs application against the Council for unreasonable behaviour. As the Inspector said himself to the Council Officers during the hearing "your Members should be here to answer for this". Of course they weren't, and no doubt if the appeal gets allowed and costs awarded against the Council those Councillors will try to blame either the Officers and/or the independent Inspector. |