What Are They Hiding?

On Wednesday 10th January there was a meeting at Epsom & Ewell Council Town Hall. The following day What’s On In My Town received the following press release from Epsom Green Belt Group What Are They Hiding? 

Council holds secret meeting to agree where to build on our Green Belt land.

Last night, 10th Jan 2024,  the council held a secret meeting behind closed doors to discuss building on Green Belt land.

In February 2023, a consultation was held on the draft Local Plan, which sets out proposals for how the borough will be developed over the next 16 years to 2040. When residents were asked whether they were happy for there to be development on Green Belt land, they overwhelming voted against it (84% according to the Council’s own statistics).

The government recently issued revised planning policies which clearly stated that ‘there is no requirement for Green Belt boundaries to be reviewed or changed when plans are being prepared or updated’.

The council has a choice. Save the Green Belt, or go against residents’ wishes and environmental concerns, and approve future development of these precious green spaces.

It seems an easy choice to make. So why did they feel it necessary to hold a secret meeting?

Government policy says that all meetings of an executive, including meetings of its committees or sub-committees must be open to the public, except if it would ‘result in the council breaching a legal obligation to third parties about the keeping of confidential information’ or ‘in order to maintain orderly conduct or prevent misbehaviour at a meeting’.

The information is not confidential – the subject matter was published by the Council in January 2023 and will be published again in January 2025, long before any development starts.

Previous meetings have been orderly, so there is no justifiable argument for this either.

So why were the public not told about the meeting, why was it not on the council calendar on its website, and why did councillors enter the Town Hall by a side entrance to avoid objectors at the main entrance?

One of the Green Belt plots of land being considered was sold by the Council to a local business owner for £77,500 three years before development of this Local Plan started. It could be worth millions if the Local Plan allocates it for development. Why did this happen?

Nearly all of the plots considered represent ‘high performing’ Green Belt land under the Council’s own assessment, which should not be developed. The government planning policies state they don’t have to be developed, councillors have a choice, so why the secret debate?

I understand that an external consultant has been brought in by officers to tell councillors that the government guidance doesn’t apply and a planning inspector would require Green Belt to be developed. What authority do they have to overrule published policies?

Something doesn’t seem right.

The council has identified brownfield sites sufficient to build over 3,700 new dwellings over the period to 2040. The latest government (‘ONS’) data from 2018 shows that a growth of 2,423 households is expected over the period from 2022-2040. There is more than enough space to build the houses we need, and much more, on brownfield land already identified. There is no excuse to build on Green Belt land.

I remain hopeful that councillors will do what’s right, for the environment, for the borough and for its residents by excluding Green Belt from development plans and building the affordable housing we need on the brownfield locations already identified.

The above press release was sent to us by Epsom Green Belt Group. After reading the article What’s On In My Town thought it was only fair for the council to reply to these allegations. Here is their reply.

Statement by Cllr Steven McCormick, Chair of the Licensing and Planning Policy Committee:

“This was not a secret meeting; it just wasn’t a public meeting. I stated publicly at the September LPPC Committee and extraordinary full Council on 24 October 2023 that Member briefings regarding the Local Plan would be taking place during this time period assuming the local plan was unpaused by full council, which it was.

Further clarification was given at the special LPPC meeting held in November when the Local Development Scheme (LDS) was an agenda item.  I have given a statement at every council meeting allowing questions from all members.  All members have been encouraged to attend each LPPC meeting whether they’re a committee member or not.  All members have been fully involved and engaged in the development of our local plan.

It is normal and expected practice when a Local Plan is being developed for Members to be able to discuss items of detail outside of the public Committee Meetings. The information briefing for councillors held on 10 January 2024 was not a meeting of the Council or a committee and had no decision-making powers, and there was no right for public access under the Local Government Act 1972 or any other legislation.

There is currently a huge amount of work being done for our Local Plan, including considering the implications of the revised NPPF published in December 2023.   Work will continue over the coming months before the next stage of public consultation (Regulation 19), which is due to commence in January 2025, if supported by LPPC in November 2024 and full council in December 2024.”