The Laughing Tree Oakham Town Council

Dear Mr Pook,

I attended the Oakham Town Council meeting on Wednesday 7th July 2010. The last as a Councillor.

Cllr Sharon Spencer was chairing the meeting.

We came to a planning application the applicant wanted to remove a branch from a tree.

Cllr Sharon Spencer read the content of the applicants letter and found it highly amusing and laughed and most of the other members joined in.

Her behaviour and members who joined in with the joke, showed a total lack of respect towards the applicant and brought the Town Council into disrepute.

A document was handed around for all to view and Cllr Woodcock proposed the application should be rejected and a vote was taken before all councillors had considered the documents.

At this point I did not vote and the Clerk recorded a unanimous vote, I questioned how my vote had been recorded and he altered his sheet to show I was voting against the proposal. Of course my experience tells me this will be denied, I suggest you look at the sheets.

What happened at this meeting is another example of the councils complete contempt for the public this council is meant to serve.

I believe this is the most serious because the applicants name and address was published on the agenda and given to the public.

If the applicant felt the tree attracts birds to their garden and the washing is spoilt that is a issue, it may sound funny. It is not professional for any Councillor to laugh or ridicule any member of the public. The behaviour of the chair influenced the member decision. It was an embarrassment to sit around the table in view of the public

From

Martin Brookes