The farce continued at the DC meeting on Thursday when Councillors met to determine the hospital site planning application. It was as expected a foregone conclusion with the Liberal Democrat majority following the party line set by their leader Ed Davey voting for the proposal and the Conservative minority voting against.
Lip service was paid to the excellent case presented by the members of OADRA and others, but it was a gesture towards democracy – a sop to the masses. Councillor Parekh on three occasions stated how he was the Ward representative, but he represented nobody except his party’s interests. It will ever be thus until we have Residents’ Association Councillors who actually live and have an allegiance to the Ward. We should be thinking seriously about this.
One member of OADRA, who has spoken before, also spoke in favour of the proposal, but unfortunately he was not concerned with the alternatives that exist.
The OADRA Committee are looking at what they can do next. The proposal has to be approved by the Greater London Office, and we shall try and influence them. We could do with a good planning lawyer in the Association – step forward any volunteers!
Thanks to all the people and members from other resident associations who turned up to hear the proceedings – it was a salutary lesson, with a wonderfully biased summing up by Madam Chairman.
