Councillor calls for a free vote

INDEPENDENT FIFE councillor Bryan Poole is calling for a free vote at tomorrow’s meeting of Fife Council to determine who becomes chairman of the north-east Fife area committee.

The councillors will discuss a new structure put forward by the minority Labour administration, which leader Councillor Alex Rowley hopes will lead to more transparent governance and more mature decision making.

Yesterday, Councillor Poole said he believed the “natural and outstanding candidate” for the north-east Fife area chairman would be former provost Frances Melville.

He said: “An interesting change from that of the last administration is that the election of the chairs for the area committees will be left to the respective area committees which is a welcome step in restoring a connection between local communities and local councillors.

“With regard to north-east Fife the challenges over the next few years, particularly in regard to planning developments, will be significant.

“With that in mind it is my view that the chair of the north-east Fife area committee should be someone who has had previous experience of planning and has shown an interest in planning matters over a period of time.”

He continued: “Given the above, it is my view that there is an obvious and outstanding candidate for the area chair of north-east Fife area committee.

“Frances Melville was an excellent and fair provost in the last Fife Council and, most importantly, rose way above the party politics which was on display far too often in Fife Council.

“Frances commands respect from across the political divide and, of course, has extensive previous experience of planning.

“It is my intention to nominate her as chair of the north-east Fife area committee this coming Thursday, and I truly hope she is not ‘discouraged’ from standing by her party colleagues.”