EXCLUSIVE

PLANNING councillors in Thurrock have been called in for an extraordinary meeting after the authority's legal and monitoring officer ruled a twice-made decision by the councillors committee is not proper.

But the council is trying to keep the reasons behind the legal officer's decision a secret and a motion has been proposed to hold the new meeting in secret.

The controversy surrounds the application to build 75 new homes on green belt land adjacent to USP Palmer's College campus on the edge of Grays.

The proposed scheme, with Wood View on its northern boundary and Chadwell Road to the south, will consist of 57 houses and 18 apartments which will be sold, with the developers required to make contribution to the local community in respect of affordable housing and education.

By a narrow majority on a long and controversial evening in June councillors first rejected an officer recommendation to refuse the scheme. They said it could go ahead.

Under the council's constitution they then had to reconsider the decision a month later, but the same councillors again backed the development when it came up before them again in July.

The committee chair Cllr Tom Kelly declared the decision as 'borderline madness' but he could not sway the four councillors who backed the plan.

And they supplied a list of nine reasons why they felt the scheme should go ahead, two more than they produced at the original meeting. However, the council's monitoring officer has now stepped in and concluded, having taken legal advice, that the committee's decision does not provide legally adequate reasons to satisfy the key policy test for granting permission for development in the green belt and the decision of the councillors should not be allowed – though the same councillors have the right to overrule that decision again – if they dare! At the original meeting in June officers, committee chair Cllr Kelly (Con) and Cllrs Michael Fletcher (Lab) and Gary Byrne (Ind) – together with non-voting member Steve Taylor - were adamant the proposal should be vetoed as there were not sufficient special circumstances to support the plan.

Cllr David Potter, who had indicated he was against the plan, became a significant player in the drama when he quit the meeting midway through because of the poor quality of the council's virtual meeting system. Had he cast his lot and backed officers, then the scheme would have been rejected.

However, in his absence the cross party alliance of Cllrs Gerard Rice (Lab), Lawrence (Con), Sue Shinnick (Lab) and Sue Sammons (Con) supported each other in driving the plans through. And they did the same at the second meeting when Cllr Potter was not able to vote. The same seven members will square up again next week in what may be a battle of wills. Already this year the pro-green belt building councillors have won battles against officers, most notably the granting of permission for the Langdon Hills Golf Club retirement village.

And unless the councillors vote for the meeting to be held in open session next week (Thursday, 19 November) the public may never know the full story behind the whole escapade. The monitoring officer wants the meeting to be held in secret, saying the public interest the public interest in maintaining secrecy outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. The agenda for next week's meeting is here.