LETTER: Oblivious to the public’s anger

With regard to the recent letter (‘Interview alluded to Kingsfold homes’ WSCT 30.10.14, p39) the principle of homes being built around Kingsfold with the associated dualling of the dangerous A24 from Great Daux roundabout up to Capel has been discussed for the best part of 30 years.
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The pertinent question that needs putting again to top planning councillor Claire Vickers is have she and her planning officers had any informal meetings and discussions, and given any informal advice, with the developers proposing to build 10,000 homes between Kingsfold and Capel?

Mrs Vickers has refused to answer this question through this letters page since her equivocating letter a month ago (‘Kingsfold plan not submitted’, WSCT 9.10.14, p38).

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In what was her final letter on this important matter she chose her words like a true politician stating that: ‘no formal submission of this site was made to the council...’. Why the stony silence since to the substantial question?

Mrs Vickers, like her deputy leader Cllr Helena Croft, has refused to sign the very necessary Free Speech Charter, which the other two political parties and a few brave Tories have signed.

I suspect that since the pair will continue to absent themselves from doing the right thing in this regard by continuing to refuse to sign this declaration we won’t get any answers to the questions that the public continue to pose to Mrs Vickers and her cabinet colleagues.

But asking what councillors who aren’t members of the cabinet know and don’t know is futile. As the ‘shenanigans’ (to quote Cllr Liz Kitchen) of the past 12 months has shown there’s a gang of four that run our local council and make all the decisions.

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From what I’ve read in articles and editorials anyone who’s not in the cabinet not only does not know what’s going on but, more to the point, if they ask questions or vote against what the cabinet have decided in secret these backbench councillors are punished with a ‘court marshal’ (Cllr Peter Burgess), ‘secret courts’ and being sacked as chairman of the council and the licensing committee (Cllr Christian Mitchell), sacked as a deputy cabinet member (Cllr John Bailey) or being sacked from committees (Cllr Simon Torn).

All of these depressing tales have been written about in this newspaper over the past nine months but Cllrs Vickers and Croft continue to govern us in Horsham oblivious to the public’s anger.

GWEN TAYLOR

Havengate, Horsham

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