Bid to put "record straight" in Hughenden housing row

12:00pm Thursday 12th August 2010

By Rebecca Cain

THE chairman of Hughenden Valley Residents Association fears the democratic process is going “terribly wrong” as a row about affordable housing in the village continues to dominate parish council meetings.

He spoke to the BFP this week to “put the record straight” on where the association stands on affordable housing in the village.

A row has erupted in the Hughenden Parish about the process to find sites for rural affordable housing after a site in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Green Belt and agricultural land was proposed in a previous survey.

Chairman of Hughenden Valley Residents Association (HVRA), Paul Cawte, said the association does not object to affordable housing but does object to it being built on AONB, green belt and working arable land.

He said the HVRA wants to “put the record straight” and there is “no anti-rural housing campaign in force by the HVRA and never has been.”

Mr Cawte said: “The HVRA decided early on when we first discovered this was the parish council plan we would not oppose the concept of affordable housing which we are in favour of in the right place.”

He said brownfield sites should be considered for this type of development and not sites like Warrendene Road which was put forward last time.

Mr Cawte said he was “astounded” to hear the parish council will not enter into further correspondence with residents on the matter unless they were legitimate freedom of information requests.

He said he believes it goes against the Nolan Report which outlines the standards in public life including accountability which says: "Holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and actions to the public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their office" and openness.

At a previous council meeting councillors agreed to not make personal email addresses public and for all correspondence to go through the clerk.

Mr Cawte said he was concerned by the lack of direct communication between parishioners and councillors.

Mr Cawte added the vote of no confidence called at the annual parish council meeting in May has not been forgotten.

He said the vote “may not be legal” but it is “immoral” for the council not to listen ” and “the council should do right by the people it claims to represent.”

Lynn Turner, parish clerk, said: “The council said it will not correspond on past processes as the process is starting again.

“Therefore the survey is to find out the views of the parishioners. Why anyone would be against the survey, I’m not sure.”

Speaking about Mr Cawte’s concerns over emailsto the council going through her, she added: “That’s the correct way for going to the council. It’s the correct process across the country.

In a letter to the Bucks Free Press written by Lynne Turner on behalf of Hughenden Parish Council in June it said: “The planning committee of Hughenden Valley Residents Association, on the other hand, has the freedom to run a campaign in ways which are not possible for Parish Councils.

"It is not elected, has no rules of engagement, and can say and do as it pleases, markedly different from the constraints rightly put on Parish Councils.”

She added: “The Parish Council hopes that the response rate in the Housing Needs Survey going out Parish wide in September will be high.

"It needs to hear from people interested in homes, those who favour the provision of affordable homes, and those against.”