| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Abolition of Chiswick Area Planning Committee is bad news for Chiswick | |
| Posted by: | Phil Andrews | |
| Date/Time: | 07/06/11 11:02:00 |
| "Phil Andrew's idea of making planning decisions at a Ward level would sadly make this almost an inevitablity" If this is true then it is merely a sad reflection on the quality of our elected members. My suggestion is by no means "pie in the sky", it has actually already been put into practice in some parts of the country. Saying that we should not empower small communities due to the danger of corruption is a little like saying we shouldn't have corner shops in case they are robbed. I would also dispute the charge that centralising the process and giving almost absolute power to officers at the expense of elected members reduces the potential for corruption. It simply creates different, and larger-scale, opportunities for corrupt practice from different people, which then becomes harder to get to the bottom of. There has always been a small minority on both "sides" of the operation that has been prepared to abuse its position for personal gain. Nobody has yet commented on the fact that I personally was inappropriately and probably unlawfully lobbied by two very senior officers over the Mogden application, in which it was considered so important to approve a recommendation to give "control" to officers which they have subsequently shown no interest in exercising. Corruption? Certainly there is no evidence of it at all, but there must have been some reason why it was felt necessary to go to such extraordinarily lengths to drive this through. Give the power to the communities and let them keep an eye on their elected members. In this way any dodgy business is much more likely to see light of day. |