LETTER: North Horsham shenanigans

It was reported that ‘HDC declined to comment on how much Christopher Katkowski QC was paid to represent the council’ at the public planning enquiry (WSCT 04/12/14). The public enquiry looked at the shenanigans over North Horsham in the council and building in the Strategic Gap, our local Green Belt with Crawley.

On 12 December 2013 the Secretary of State, Mr Eric Pickles MP made it mandatory for all councils to tell residents when it spends tax payers’ money on anything costing over £500 and to post the details on their council website. This was to strengthen the public’s ability to hold councils to account. So why is HDC stating to this newspaper its wilful refusal to do this?

Deputy Leader, Cllr Helena Croft (Roffey North) is the HDC’s cabinet member for communications with the public and the media and for this Cllr Croft claimed £11,553 in allowances from Horsham taxpayers in 2012/2013.

Cllr Croft must come clean and tell us in next week’s newspaper how many thousands of pounds Mr Katkowski QC cost the tax payers in fighting the residents and Horsham Society who are all opposed to North Horsham.

If Cllr Croft does not do this, then on 6 May 2015 residents must tell her through the ballot box that she and her cabinet gang, along with Cllr Rae, are unfit for public office. The cabinet led by Cllrs Dawe and Croft do not listen to the public and they do not even listen to their own Tory Secretary of State for Local Government and his mandatory directive to help clean up local government. As a resident wrote last week, HDC is run like a tin pot dictatorship.

Valerie Wise

Owlscastle Close, Horsham