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(14/01/08) Scrutiny Board reports |
The council's Culture and Leisure Scrutiny board met Monday 14th
of January to finalise their report omn the Wharfemeadows fence
debacle. The final report was eventually accepted only on
the chairman's casting vote.
Councillor Bernard Atha will be presenting a minority report.
Click here for the
Draft
Report.
Click here for the
Minority
Report.
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(06/12/07) Legal Advice released |
After months of delay LCC have finally been forced to release
the Counsel's advice
they claim forced them to build the fence. This was as the
result of a Freedom of Information request by Greg Mulholland
MP.
Strangely the word 'fence' does not appear in the document. |
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It's not over yet...........
Wharfemeadows Action Group's campaign opposing Leeds City
Council's decision to erect unnecessary fencing in Wharfemeadows
Park Otley has continued. There has been much work going on behind the scenes and reports that
"it's all over" are inaccurate.
WAG presented two folders of detailed evidence to Leeds City Council's Scrutiny
Board on 10 August.
On 22 August , the City Council's Executive Board overruled its own Scrutiny
Board's recommendation to suspend the installation of fencing until their
enquiry has been completed. The Scrutiny Board is due to present its final
report on Monday 10 December.
There is no doubt that over the last few months, trust and faith in Leeds City
Council has plummeted in Otley. It appears to be a blinkered council that has
lost touch with the community it was elected to serve.
It will take a considerable effort and a radical change in LCC’s attitude
towards proper consultation to repair this damage. WAG, throughout this
campaign, has maintained (and defended) a strictly non-party political position.
Our single aim has been to persuade LCC to listen and to use common sense in its
decision-making processes in order to come to a balanced and reasonable decision
regarding Wharfemeadows Park.
We trust that the Council's own Culture & Leisure Scrutiny Board will continue
to manage this process in a robust and impartial way. We have assured the
elected members that they will have our full support in all the work they do
towards this end. As we have said on numerous occasions, WAG is determined to
see common sense prevail rather than giving in to and thus promoting a culture
of litigation and compensation.
We believe that this has far-reaching implications for Otley, the City of Leeds
and for restoring some faith in the City Council's duty to provide to good,
democratic and accountable local government.
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| Evidence presented to the Scrutiny
Board |
Briefing
Paper
Emails
Questions at a
Glance |
Media Quotes
Supplementary Questions |
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Presentation made to the
Scrutiny Board on 16th July 2007
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| Who are we? |
Wharfemeadows Action Group exists
to co-ordinate the overwhelming opposition from Otley businesses
and residents to the proposal by Leeds City Council (LCC) to
fence off the river in Wharfemeadows Park, Otley (at a cost of
£165,000).
The group
- is non-party political
- is supported by Otley Town Council,
Otley Town Partnership, and Otley Chamber of Trade
- has presented a petition to the Lord
Mayor of Leeds with 6,136 signatures collected since
February 25th 2007
- has delivered a
speech
explaining their position to a full meeting of LCC on April
18th2007. See report
here
- has provided the members of LCC with a
briefing document making these points in more detail
- is in discussion with the leaders of
Leeds City Council to persuade them to change their decision
- is supported by ward members,
Otley Town council and the MP for Leeds NW
- is determined to see commonsense
prevail rather than giving in to a culture of litigation and
compensation
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