Oakham Town Council is becoming more and more like a dictatorship and no I have not lost the plot yet!
I can not believe they were seriously going to attempt to delegate decisions relating to planning applications to the Assistant Clerk, poor Alison, next they will be giving her dog powers to signs cheques.
If the Clerk went off sick they wanted to delegate legal powers from the planning committee which is made up of all elected members. to the assistant clerk, Chairman Joyce Lucas and nominated councillors. and they would consider applications outside of a planning meeting.
Of course if this motion had been passed and I am sure it would have been if the clerk had taken sick leave, all Oakham's planning approvals or disapproval could have been challenged in the courts.
Whoever proposed this needs to resign and those who would have supported it should also think hard.
Oakham Town Council is not an exclusive club it believe or not is meant to serve the town.
Luckily that did not happen the agenda item was ignored.
Planning meetings by law are required to be public meetings and Oakham Town Council should not ignore that law.
This Wednesday Oakham Town Council is open to the public from 7pm
for two meetings Planning and General Purposes Committee and Parks Committee
As we are having a meeting it could be interesting if you attended the farce of a meeting that considered the Tesco Application.
Same charactor will be chairing the meeting not to be missed, not good if you are one of many people who have put forward a plan.
If you ever have a problem with your planning your application you should appeal, I would, none of us are trained in planning matters, that includes the clerk, who we can seek advice from. in general if a councillor knows you and likes you it passes, if not you have no hope.
some info:
Planning Applications received by the Town Council
The final decision on all planning maters affecting Rutland rests with the local planning authority which is Rutland County Council. However, in it's role as statutory consultee Oakham Town Council is asked for recommendations and observations on all planning applications affecting Oakham. follow this link www.oakhamtowncouncil.gov.uk/planning.asp for a record of planning applications received and observations made by Oakham Town Council or the Planning and General Purposes Committee. Oakham Town Council also operates a delegation procedure whereby certain forms of development can be considered by the Clerk, the Chairman and the Vice Chairman. Plans are available for inspection at the Town Council offices and may also be viewed online under the Planning and Building Control heading on the website of Rutland County Council at http://www.rutland.gov.uk/
