The Power of the Press?
Today the county council’s planning committee voted 11 to 4 to refuse an application to build a ready-mix mortar plant in the sand quarry at North Park Farm, Godstone. Nothing too unusual there, you might think. Well no, except that the same committee had already considered the same application back in February and approved it!
Or did we? The members had actually voted 6 to 5 for refusal, but the voting was miss-counted and reported as 5 all, whereupon the chairman gave a casting vote in favour. When members objected that a majority had voted against it, on legal advice she ruled that as she had originally not voted, her casting vote was her first vote and now she would give a casting vote in favour.
After this was reported in the national press, the Council took the advice of a QC and decided that the previous decision was not valid.
The refusal was formally proposed and seconded by my Lib Dem colleagues Fiona White and Ian Beardsmore.
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