Denise Wyatt Speaks Up for Frome Residents

 

Denise Wyatt

At last night's Mendip District Council Scrutiny meeting, our Frome County Council Candidate Denise Wyatt spoke.

Denise stood up for residents of Easthill who are opposed to 77 social housing dwellings being built on the beautiful wildlife haven there. Somerset Independents is standing up for them.

Easthill, Frome

The Lib Dem-run Mendip District Council Cabinet already agreed to sell the land to Aster, the social housing provider.

We agree with residents that this site is the wrong place for social housing, especially whilst sites like Saxonvale remain derelict.

Denise's speech is below:

"What took Mendip District Council so long to spend this funding? They've had two years! Why the secrecy?
Members of Somerset Independents have been investigating Mendip District Council.  Our investigations have led to the External Auditor, Ernst and Young investigating this Council’s lack of openness and transparency in its purchase of commercial properties.
The Councils Monitoring Officer, as my colleague Andrew Pope said at the last Council meeting, does not even think that the Nolan Principles are part of the councillor’s code of conduct.
So it comes as absolutely no surprise that this Council is not being open in its decision-making at Easthill. No wonder residents are so unhappy.
I was astonished when watching the Cabinet meeting, that Cllr Janine Nash, did not raise questions at Cabinet, about local residents concerns, and on wild life at Easthill. Was this because as someone said to me, she is probably worried about being “drummed out of the brownies”- the Liberal Democrats?
You can resign from the Liberal Democrats Cllr Nash and still remain a councillor.
The main reason that the Council are pushing for this site to progress so quickly and without proper process and openness, is because they will lose funding.   


I quote from a Cabinet Report of July this year.
“ Approximately £570,000 of Land Release Fund,  grant remains unspent, and Mendip could be at risk of losing this money, if a programme to deliver housing is not agreed, implemented and demonstrable progress, made by the end of 2020. “
The Council have had two years to spend this money. So why hasn’t it?  The Council is now in a panic to spend the money by the end of December.
So the environment and wildlife of Easthill is to be sacrificed and built on because of the incompetence of the Council.
This is why the rush and lack of consultation and why the Council has failed to be open and transparent.
I had it confirmed by the Monitoring Officer just before 5pm this evening that the land at Easthill has not yet been sold. The land is still within the Councils ownership.
So I ask councillors, that you, tonight amend the proposed recommendations on the report, which you can, as you can ask Cabinet anything.

Ignore Councillor Wyke, and request the Cabinet to reverse its decision on Easthill and remove it from the house building programme.

What took Mendip District Council so long to spend this funding? They've had two years! Why the secrecy?
Because this Council is incompetent and
Because this Council appears to disregard the Nolan principles."

Leader of Somerset Independents and Mendip South Council Candidate Andrew Pope also spoke in support of local residents at last week's Full Council meeting of Mendip District Council. His speech is here.

Easthill, Frome