We have written to Jeremy Birch about the posting made by Councillor Emily Westley. We will be submitting a complaint to the Standards Committee. The text of the email follows: Dear Jeremy I am sorry to have to bother you with this but feel it is necessary to make sure that you are aware of what members of your cabinet are saying in a public forum. Councillor Emily Westley is a councillor for the Hollington ward, she has held the position since May 2010. She is a member of the cabinet. She sits on the Budget Cabinet, Budget Council, Charity and Council Appointments Committees. Up to May 2014 Councillor Westley was portfolio holder for Leisure and Amenities. During her time as portfolio holder for Leisure and Amenities her responsibilities included the Country Park. She has represented the council at meetings of the Friends of the Country Park. During this period many changes happened in the country park and the adjacent Ecclesbourne Glen.. We can find no record of any comments on these issues from Councillor Westley. During this period planning approval was granted for the new building. Councillor Westley did not make any comments on this application. The footpaths to the south of Rocklands were closed in April 2013. We can find no record of any comments on this issue from Councillor Westley. In February /March 2014 a devastating landslip closed Ecclesbourne Glen. We can find no comments on this issue from Councillor Westley. From May 2014 Councillor Westley has held the Environment and Safety portfolio. Since May 2014 we have submitted reports to the environment department concerning safety issues at Rocklands and Ecclesbourne Glen. These include illegal asbestos dumping and caravan parks safety issues..We can find no comments on these issues from Councillor Westley. The Rocklands caravan site has not been inspected for 20 years. Caravan park licences are inspected by the environment department. We have reported multiple breaches of the caravan site licence conditions. We can find no comments on this issue from Councillor Westley. Councillor Westley has been copied in on all significant emails sent by the Save Ecclesbourne Glen Group over the last few months. We have never received any replies or feedback from her on the Rocklands issue. Last night Councillor Westley broke her silence over the Rocklands issue. Unfortunately her views on the matter are not what we might have hoped for. In a thread about a photo showing the new building from the sea Ron Gould comments “Is there nowhere that we cannot see this monstrosity from. May have to move back to London though I could probably see it from there too” Councillor Westley responds “Move back to London then .. There is nothing to see.. In fact most of the protesters have pictures on their Facebook page of their cliff top villas in Spain etc .. Nimby?!” This is a very disappointing comment from somebody who sits on the Cabinet and has held two separate portfolio positions both relevant to the Rocklands affair. The suggestion that Mr Gould moves back to London is really troubling. Many residents (including Councillor Westley) were not born in Hastings. Should people not born in Hastings just keep quiet about local issues and if they are not happy go back to wherever they come from? It is unclear how this fits in with Labour party policy. The claim that there is nothing to see is really incredible. I wonder if she has visited the site? The building dominates the views from all directions. The suggestion that everybody has clifftop villas is a crude attempt to write the group off as an elite group of wealthy nimbyists. The Nimby accusation is very unfair. The closest neighbour to Rocklands are HBC. Support for our campaign comes from all walks of life and parts of town. Councillor Westley did soon realize it was a mistake to post such a comment and rapidly deleted it. Unfortunately it was already in the public domain. She then apologises I apologise for the way I responded however as a passionate local person and councillor its very frustrating when you try your best to do the right thing regardless of party politics and all you get is lambasted. All I see on this site is a one sided view. As councillors we cannot and would not try to distort the planning process and we have to work with what we have from government. None of us are experts we are ordinary people trying our best. The apology is appreciated but is simply not enough. Councillor Westley is not just a member of the public posting comments late at night on Facebook. She is an elected councillor, cabinet member and has held portfolio roles which are directly related to the Rocklands issue. We will be writing to each member of the council on this issue and also initiating a complaint through the Standards committee. I would appreciate you comments on this matter and seek your assurances that Councillor Westley was speaking in a personal capacity and that her views do not represent the views of the Council and the Labour Party. Thanks in advance Best regards Chris Hurrell On behalf of the Save Ecclesbourne Glen Campaign Group
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 15:45:04 +0000
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