Open minds or closed minds – you decide

BACK on December 16, 2021, the Conservative-run executive of WBC voted through a report called ‘Award of Contract to Build Newbury Sports Hub’ and thereby approving the upfront budget allocation of £3,351,000.

It was explicitly mentioned this would meet their obligation to build a replacement for the Faraday Road football stadium. Only the day before, the western area planning committee was held to debate and approve or otherwise the planning application for the Sports Hub at Monks Lane.

At this planning meeting, the leader of the executive, Lynne Doherty, who had substituted herself on to that committee, had declared that she did indeed have an interest in the application; ‘as leader of the council she had been party to conversations on the proposed development, including some with Sport England’ but

‘she determined to remain to take part in the debate and vote on the matter’ (taken from the minutes). She declared this, knowing that the application, which was submitted by Alliance Leisure who were effectively submitting it as a proxy for the executive (which she leads) and were paid over £120,000 to do so by West Berks.

Also, having been party to ‘some discussions as well as attending meetings with Sport England’. These meetings were actually at the highest level and were to arrange to persuade Sport England to remove their objections to the plans.

I’d suggest that our council leader didn’t just have a personal interest – it is clear she was fully invested. She was also fully aware that the report recommending the upfront budget approval to build the thing was already published and on the agenda for the exec meeting the very next day.

At the meeting Mrs Doherty was extremely defensive about her impartiality (watch the recording).

Yet given all the above, I am not sure how anyone can conclude that her mind was not predetermined?

As expected, the application was approved by a majority of one (there were five Conservatives and four opposition members of the committee), so her vote was clearly decisive.

Now due to some irregularities of the meeting (there were many) it was decided subsequently that the application should be passed up to the district planning committee. Given the sensitive and controversial nature of the application, I was surprised to see that the committee now contained not just one executive member but three – councillors Richard Somner, Graham Bridgman and Ross Mackinnon.

All three exec members had voted back in December to approve the upfront £3.4m+ budget to build. One of the three, councillor Ross Mackinnon, is the finance and economic development portfolio holder.

I believe he also chairs the secretive working group (opposition members are excluded) to progress their plans to redevelop the London Road Industrial Estate (LRIE), which includes building on the football ground (by the way, the football ground is protected green space and not actually part of the LRIE). Councillor Mackinnon also attended the meetings with

Sport England, along with Lynne Docherty and the previous CEO of the council, Nick Carter, all of whom were also fully invested in wanting and needing the Sports Hub plans to be approved.

Oh, and to top it off, the chair of the district planning committee, councillor Alan Law, whilst no longer a member of the executive, had taken a leading role in the previous administration’s LRIE redevelopment plans that resulted in their contract with a property developer (St Modwen) which was found to be unlawful by the Court of Appeal in November

2018 and cost us (WBC) £555,000 in legal fees/costs, plus a further £175,962 to pay St Modwen a oneoff payment as a “Development Agreement Refund”.

He refused to declare this as an interest when asked to do so by councillor Tony Vickers and it was his vote, as chair, which was the casting vote to approve the application.

And finally, the nub of the issue, is that they all voted for the application based on it being a stand alone Sports Hub and not linked in any way with it being a replacement or part of a replacement for the Faraday Road stadium, knowing that it was always their intention for it to be exactly that.

And we are expected to believe that these also had not ‘already made their minds up’ when they listened to the arguments and voted?

If there has ever been a clearer case of pre-determination (see definition below), I’ve yet to come

across one.

Well, I’ll leave you to judge.

Is it any wonder that yet again our council finds itself up before the High Court on their botched plans for the LRIE.

Predetermination is where a councillor’s mind is closed to the merits of any other arguments about a particular issue on which they are making a decision and that they have already made their minds up about it.

The councillor makes a decision on the issue without taking all relevant information into account. Predetermination is therefore the surrender by the decision-maker of his/her judgement by having an evidentially closed-mind such that they are unable to apply their judgement fully and properly to an issue requiring decision. VAUGHAN MILLER

Liberal Democrat councillor for East Fields ward

Newbury Town Council