Sandwell Protesters - Your Right to Write!

Deeply corrupt Labour Sandwell Council have had a special policy with regards to "big" planning applications - they make the decisions and local people can go and f*** themselves. Look at their bent dealings over Londonderry Fields, Brandhall Golf Course, Lion Farm Fields, Bescot etc. 

But the great unwashed of Sadders are getting wise to this and fighting back - and these struggles are likely to become increasingly bitter as bent Labour seek to destroy evermore of the shrinking green space left in the benighted Borough.

Certain Labour Councillors have made very odd utterances about their role in this grotesque destruction notably Cllr Bob "Seig Heil" Piper. These - and the recent preachy utterances of his new acolyte, Cllr Fenton - seem to be that if they listen to lobbying interests they may have to declare interests and be debarred from making decisions at the relevant time. [I say "seem" because it is difficult to form a coherent view of what they are actually saying and Cllr Fenton herself described her thoughts, as set out on Facebook, as being "jumbled".] But the principles set out below - whilst arising specifically in a planning case - should have general application across the board and are an important tool for brave protestors to use.

Now an old cynic like, well - like me, may wonder whether the blurb from Piper, Fenton et al is all very convenient for these "tribunes of the people". These "socialists" can distance themselves from public anger at the Labour rape of the diminishing greenery on the alleged basis that they must somehow remain "impartial" - a concept hitherto unknown in Sandwell Labour politics.

Yes, here's a picture of Piper and Fenton trying to destroy Sandwell Leisure Trust a year ago. Funnily enough the Cabinet (including, er, Piper) have recently decided to rip-up the multi-million pound SLT contract without any plan as to what to replace it with!

Whatever these jokers actually think, the position has been clear since the Court decision in a (second) case against Hackney Council brought by Holborn Studios Ltd which says that objectors should be able to write to Councillors - including those on the Planning Committee (if a planning case)  - to make their views known. And Councillors are permitted to read and consider the objections and choose whether that evidence should be studied further in discharging their responsibilities. It is not wrong but "democratic" (another word unknown to the Sandwell comrades) for councillors to consider what local residents actually want to say!

Full case report:

https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2020/1509.html

I am indebted to Richard Harwood OBE QC of 39 Essex Chambers, London both for his article in "Local Government Lawyer" about the case and for very kindly writing to The Skidder with additional comments.

Mr Harwood stated [my emphasis in bold]:

"The judgment establishes ... the right of local councillors to receive correspondence from the public and to consider it when making decisions. Part of this is the right of the public to write. There is also a recognition that members can and will be lobbied, whether in writing, in meetings, at social events or chatting in the street. provided this is done openly, in particular that correspondence is copied to officers whether by the writer or the recipient, that is not simply legitimate, but an important part of the democratic process."

Of course, the Courts and Mr Harwood are assuming that local authorities usually act lawfully whereas that is not the position in Labour Sandwell. There is also an assumption, given that the literature refers to planning cases, that the process has begun. But we know in Sandwell that bent Labour have a habit of "tipping the wink" to would-be developers and then using taxpayer-funded SMBC staff to do extensive work on their behalf during "pre-application" processes. Look at the deals with Jeremy Knight-Adams concerning Lion Farm, or the three very senior Labour Councillors who told Network Rail there would be "no problem" with planning in respect of the dreadful Bescot concrete factory (only defeated after months of hard work by a dedicated band of objectors).

Deals like Lion Farm were deliberately concealed from the public by bent Labour for several YEARS and so objectors are usually faced with an "up yours" fait accompli by them, and given extremely limited time to raise objections (not to mention incomplete information).

But if you get wind of Labour plans on any subject - but certainly in respect of planning issues - feel free to write to your ward councillors, planning committee members and/or any other involved Councillors AND send a copy to the Council - address it to the Chief Executive if you do not have a better option.

Do remember that in the years of Labour corruption, cronyism and incompetence since this blog started in 2013 the comrades have conveniently "lost" many documents and letters, or simply ignored them. Always keep your own copy. If you are part of a campaign group also let the group organisers have a copy for a "central file". [Just by way of example, note the comrades even shafting one of their own - (then) Cllr Liam Preece - when he made a typically feeble attempt to object to the mammoth motorway advertising signs Squealing Eling and others planned for Ray Hall Lane.]

Also remember that a number of Councillors in Sandwell are too lazy or thick to read correspondence and/or deeply corrupt in any event. For some of them you might have to put your objections into cartoon form.

Piper's Finest Hour - another Sandwell Labour Disaster

We have seen in the Lisa McNally case that Head of Legal, Surjit Tour, unlawfully blew over £100,000 of taxpayers' money on financing her hopeless and purely personal case. Thanks to the direct corruption of Labour Cllr Simon Hackett, the costs of his data breach/breach of confidentiality are just under £100,000 for just one of the two Claimants. (It is forecast by an informed source that the entire costs and damages will eventually be around a quarter of a million pounds!) Tour and his colleagues have thrown SMBC wide open to litigation in respect of the SEND contract and, possibly, Lion Farm.  And so it goes on.

Now we finally have evidence of the lost costs of Piper's campaign against plans to stop the conversion of space above shops in Bearwood Road, Smethwick (in Piper's ward) into bedsits. And the facts reveal yet more ludicrous incompetence by the rotten Labour Council!

Far from "not wishing to prejudice the independence of decision-makers", Piper is said to have "campaigned" against the proposed development and 12 related planning applications even though he was (then) on, er, the Planning Committee! Whatever he did, he did not feel the need to declare an interest at the meeting that was recorded as such, or recuse himself from any part of the meeting. Indeed the minutes say that the matter was before the Committee "at the request of Cllr Piper". The minutes state "Members declared they had been lobbied" without identifying which members or the "lobbyists" - or whether Piper was, himself, one of the latter! And, of course, for political reasons, Piper has also very publicly voiced his prejudice against this type of development but still felt able to sit on the Planning Committee to adjudicate on just such applications.

The minutes state that: "Cllr Piper, ward member, was present and represented his constituents with the following [objections] ... " (He had also been present as a member of the Planning Committee at the meeting on 4th July, 2018 when the same applications were discussed.)

One of the objections, as put forward by wealthy Piper, was that the development would somehow "irretrievably damage" the area even though it is an absolute sh*thole after 47 years of Sandwell Labour dictatorship. Indeed the planning officers themselves noted that the area "had struggled in recent years".

The SMBC planning officers (i.e. professionals) recommended that planning permission be granted. Their conclusion was important since they said there was "no demonstrable evidence" to refuse the application. Indeed they thought it would improve the "vitality and viability" of this Labour grot spot.

But the comrades stuck together as usual and sided with Piper - all twelve applications were refused. The developer immediately appealed.

What happened next has surprised even me, a seasoned observer of Sandwell Labour's disastrous stewardship of the benighted Borough. Following a Freedom of Information Request I can now disclose that the Sandwell planners decided they would prefer not to use their own SMBC lawyers to answer the appeals but would "go it alone". Given how useless the Legal Department is (and ignoring allegations of corruption therein for present purposes - as these equally apply to elements within the Planning Department) this seems surprising and perhaps Piper might like to try and find out why this happened? 

The planners clearly thought that Piper's campaign was bullsh*t since they apparently filed almost no actual evidence against the appeals. The decision of the Planning Inspectorate is absolutely damning:

"Councillors were entitled not to accept the professional advice of officers in the merits of the proposals provided that a case could be made for the contrary view. Whilst I acknowledge that objections were received in relation to the applications and that it was proper that these were considered by Councillors when reaching their decisions, at appeal the Council is required to provide evidence to substantiate each reason for refusal.

"... I disagree with the Council that there were sufficient grounds to refuse planning permission for each of the proposals. The appeal evidence submitted by the Council justifying its decisions is extremely limited and lacks detail as to why Councillors reached a different conclusion to officers on the merits of the proposals. It is not sufficient to merely state that Councillors exercised their local knowledge in disagreeing with the recommendations or that there were concerns regarding the proposals ...

"... in failing to provide sufficient evidence to justify its decisions, [Sandwell Council] has behaved unreasonably and this behaviour has led to unnecessary expense during the appeal process. For this reason, and having regard to all matters raised, full awards of costs are justified."

So there you have it. Piper's campaign - even if not motivated by his political prejudice (?) - was spurious and no actual evidence could be found to support it. The Council tried to rely on the bullsh*t put forward by Piper and couldn't provide any evidence to back any of it up. Yet Piper still felt able to criticise the Planning Inspectorate for "not listening" to local residents even when no evidence was adduced by bent Sandwell Labour to listen to!

The result - bent Sandwell Labour cost us taxpayers another £30,500 plus VAT! We have been well and truly shafted once again.

Piper and Private Landlords

Despite his incessant anti-Zionist and anti-Israel ranting and social media abuse of various individuals, Keir "Sir Woodenarse" Starmer himself is said to be well aware that Piper has been inexplicably elevated to the bent Labour Council's Cabinet.

Of course, when Piper was Chair of the Licensing Committee, he attracted Police attention when he walked into a crowded pub, shouted "Seig Heil" and gave a Nazi salute. He did not see this as providing any cause to resign from his position!

At the full Council meeting last October (at 1.58.44 on the video) the ever-political Piper launched a diatribe against all private landlords and expressed the view that he hoped, as a Cabinet member, the Labour Council would stop what he perceives as abuses in "private sector housing". This is typical Piper disingenuousness again as Piper - an oft-professed Corbynist - doesn't believe there should be ANY private sector housing rental at all and that housing rentals should be run entirely by the State.

Of course, a number of Sandwell Labour Councillors have been or still are, er, private landlords and so he will no doubt "consult" with them about how to clean up the alleged abuses of "landlords". And perhaps he can get some tips from Labour Cllr Harnoor Bhullar (wife of former "leader" Rajbir "Moonlight Flit" Singh). Rajbir told the world she has been "seriously ill" but at least she was able to take to Piper's own propaganda group on Facebook to try and seek some extra income:

You see folks - these people tell you one thing but do another themselves. You can't trust Sandwell Labour!

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