THE days when CDC could peddle nonsense and get people to believe what they say are long gone.

In the Standard last week, the leader of CDC, allegedly on the advice of his legal team, was quoted as saying “attendance to the open meeting by any district councillor could give rise to possible issues or allegations of pre-determination or bias when deciding on the application.” 

This is wrong and the law is quite clear. In section 25 of the Localism Act 2011 it says: “Members may campaign and represent their constituents – and then speak and vote on those issues – without fear of breaking the rules on pre-determination.”

As decision time on the Local Plan and the Chesterton application approach, how can we be sure that confused thinking like this and obscuring of key facts will not lead to a flawed decision?

PATRICK MOYLAN
On behalf of Save Our Cirencester

See why CDC's Mark Annett won't be attending the Chesterton Development community group meeting on Tuesday, in his own words.