Council votes to close correspondence on past housing debate

10:19am Thursday 22nd July 2010

By Rebecca Cain

HUGHENDEN Parish Council has voted in favour to close all correspondence relating to its past conduct regarding Rural Affordable Housing.

Residents were unhappy with the way the council handled the proposal to build 10 affordable homes in Warrendene Road earlier this year and believe there are further questions to be answered.

However, the council voted that there would be no further correspondence, save for legitimate Freedom of Information requests.

Councillor Tony Konieczny voted against the proposal. He told the Bucks Free Press: “The reason is I think the residents have a lot of unanswered questions about what happened in the past.

“What they are trying to do is get the council to realise what went wrong in the past so they are not going to make the same mistakes in the future- really the residents are trying to help the council.

“We seem to live in a free society and this is one way of making democracy work.”

The land in Warrendene road is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Green Belt and working agriculture land and was chosen from six sites following a housing survey.

HPC has since announced it will conduct a new housing survey. On Tuesday , July 20 an extra council meeting confirmed the survey will be sent out in September.

Nick Morris, spoke at the monthly council meeting last Tuesday. He resigned from the council in March and at the meeting asked if any one from the council “was proud” with the way it had handled certain issues including the housing debate.

He told the Bucks Free Press: “I just felt uneasy with the conduct. I didn't want to be associated with that type of conduct myself.

“With the Rural Affordable Housing I felt it was rail-roaded through. I often felt we weren't given all the information. I was only given the information so I could come to a conclusion, which wasn't the conclusion that was best for the parish.”

Chairman Peggy Ewart made no comment about Mr Morris' speech. Regarding the housing issue Cllr Ewart said there would be no further correspondence about past processes and “nothing further will be said about it until November/ December.”

Naphill and Walter's Ash Residents Association held a public meeting on July 8. Out of 50 attendants 41 voted in favour of affordable housing but 49 voted against rural affordable housing in green Belt AONB countryside.