Councillor fears ‘intimidation’ could sway controversial decisions

A KIRKLEES councillor who sits on the committee responsible for deciding some of the biggest - and often controversial - planning schemes in the borough says he fears decisions being skewed by “intimidation”.

Rob Walker also believes councillors making sometimes unpopular decisions are being “completely attacked” in media reports.

Clr Walker (Ind, Colne Valley) was a member of the Labour Cabinet on Kirklees Council until he quit the party last year.

He was later appointed to the sevenmember Strategic Planning Committee, which traditionally discusses and votes on major projects in the district.

Addressing the council’s Standards Committee (Mar 29), Clr Walker said he was worried about how the committee’s decisions were reported.

He commented: “They do pick out individual members of committees and comment on the way in which they’ve voted on particular cases.

“It’s very important that the local press reports on things but I just worry sometimes [that] it’s slipping over into the territory where individual members of committees are being completely attacked, which I personally don’t think is appropriate.”

Clr Walker also raised concerns about the “intensely political” nature of planning committees and whether that politicisation affects objective decision-making.

He said: “The whole [planning] process does need the opportunity for scrutiny and challenge from the public.

“But I do worry about the way that complaints often can be made if somebody just doesn’t agree with the decision that’s been made. And I worry that that can intimidate people on the committee.”

There was agreement on the issue from Clr Mohan Sokhal (Lab, Greenhead), a long-serving member of the committee.

He said: “In the previous years the press never attacked any individual or named any individual or political party or name on the planning decision. Now it’s happening. I think [the] press need to think about that.” But there was a push back from

I worry that (the way

complaints can be made) can intimidate people on the

committee