PaulRogan

I draw your attention to today's report from the Yorkshire Post's multi-award winning reporter Robert Sutcliffe. http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Calls-for-probe-into-council.3542147.jp I have now issued the following press release.

Further to the publication in the Yorkshire Post of allegations that Calderdale Council's gave false evidence to a Public Inquiry into a Compulsory Purchase Order, English Democrat Councillor Paul Rogan, (Rastrick) immediately called for a full and independent Inquiry into the matter.

Yesterday Calderdale's present Chief Executive (a new one is to be confirmed 19th Dec.) told Councillors he had issued instructions to commission an investigation into the allegations made in the letter dated 26 November 2007, to the Secretary of State by Messrs Hammonds. As a result Graeme Creer of Weightmans Solicitors, Liverpool has been instructed and a report is expected by the end of December.

Councillor Paul Rogan (English Democrats)  has responded to the Chief Executive asking for Mr Creer's contact  details and pointing out that the Public Inquiry's result was originally expected early December, before Calderdale's investigation is completed.

Councillor Rogan commented:  "I still believe the Police should also open an investigation and I will therefore be contacting them today to ask them to do this".

At the Full Council meeting scheduled next week, at which Councillor Rogan also tabled a Motion calling upon the Prime Minister to hold a Referendum on the EU Treaty,  he now intends to be able to bring a vote of no confidence in the Tory Cabinet.

Councillor Rogan stated:  "In my view if the Council has provided false evidence to a Public Enquiry, this will have happened while a Tory Cabinet was in charge.  This business has brought the entire Borough under a cloud, and, if the case is proven, then they should accept full responsibility and resign".

The English Democrats are anxious to ensure that despite the current climate of sleaze and third party donations which are plaguing the main parties, that The English Democrats stand up for transparency in local government and ensure wrong doing is identified and punished where it is found to have taken place.

Is there a fraud and cover up in Calderdale over the Council's plans for Brighouse's river and canal side retail sheds scheme?

Link to today's story in the Yorkshire Post is:- http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Council-accused-of-fraud-in.3534314.jp

When I first saw the Hammond's solicitors letter to the Secretary of State, which contained the allegations of the Council's false evidence to the Sugden's Mill CPO Inquiry, my first thoughts were that this is a total disgrace. Those like me, who sat through much of the Inquiry, already felt that there was something very wrong with the Council's scheme but now these new allegations if founded demonstrate that the people of Brighouse have been very seriously let down. The allegations could also have much wider ramifications in the whole Calderdale borough. The Tory Cabinet has been presiding (for some years now) over this ‘scheme', which allegedly involves fraud, cover up and gagging. I hold them entirely and collectively responsible and think they should resign immediately.

There have been many occasions in the past when both myself and Councillor Nick Yates have been ignored, gagged, be-littled, threatened and not allowed to speak about our concerns at meetings in the Town Hall held either in private or public. These go back to times when we were still both members of the Conservative group. A group which not only gave no support what so ever to our concerns but now appears to perhaps have been a party to cover-up, intimidation and whose leaders weakly followed recommendations without proper scrutiny, making as a result some very poor decisions. Hardly surprising neither of us are no longer Tories!

Labour are no better. Their Panel Chairman refused last year to let community representatives be heard at a scrutiny meeting, where they had hoped to point out some of the many inconsistencies which are now apparently evidenced in the letter sent to the Secretary of State. The Liberal-Dem chairing the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel meeting earlier this year likewise refused to let me speak as soon as he knew my theme related to the subject now to hand. It now appears to many that the cover up and alleged deception may go very deeply and touch all the main 3 political Parties.

I will not only be calling for a full and public investigation into the matter by an independent body but also for an immediate police investigation into the allegations of fraud.

Should these allegations prove to be founded, i shall call for further investigations which may perhaps reveal more instances in Brighouse or indeed across the entire Borough of Calderdale, where supposed ‘regeneration' has been more like ‘stagnation'. Putting the matter into a wider context for Brighouse, further questions are raised.

Had a proper and well thought out regeneration been started 10 years ago in Brighouse, would Tesco's be where it is today? Who led the plans to locate Tesco's on their present (now Town Centre) site consigning the sports club to the back woods?

Would the resulting traffic congestion caused by the Tesco's roundabout be substantially less?

Would Brighouse people now be swimming in either a refurbished traditional pool or a brand new one, rather than no swimming facility at all?

Would the town be littered with eyes sores, more akin to derelict WW2 bombsites?

Would the river and canal fronts now be a vibrant and stunning tourist attraction instead of a wasted asset?

So many questions may be raised as the worms creep out of this newly opened tin.

The people of Brighouse have indeed been very badly let down in more ways than one and in the meantime, whilst investigations are being made the very least the Council can now do is to repair the town's swimming pool forthwith until a new one can be provided.

Board Chairman's Report 2007

Our first Open Forum Meeting in 2007 was very well attended and, we are very grateful to the Assembly Rooms in Brighouse for allowing us the use of one of their meeting rooms without charge. We hope that by holding our meeting there, that new people will have seen what fine and extensive facilities the Assembly Rooms have to offer and may consider private bookings in due course.

Our AGM is held at the William Henry Smith School in Rastrick. Our thanks to the Principal, his staff and pupils for this hospitality.

One of the purposes of Brighouse Forward Partnership is to demonstrate and highlight what great facilities we have in the Brighouse area and to encourage the use of our assets to the benefit of all our townsfolk.

VISIONS

The Open Meeting heard a number of ‘visions' and ‘thought provoking' new ideas for the town's future direction. All of the ideas, however much an exercise in ‘brainstorming' were all firmly anchored on what already exists and can be built upon. Sadly a number of detractors were marshalled to voice criticism at some of the ‘visions', which were introduced. Yet peculiarly only one dissenter was actually present at the meeting to hear what was intended. The local press was also not fully supportive of The Partnership's intent, choosing instead to use some of the aspects of what was presented to generate contention (and increase circulation) rather than endorse our drive to take the town forward. It is worthy of mention that the ‘Will Alsop Vision' for Bradford, commissioned by Yorkshire Forward, was criticised by some as fanciful but it has proved the catalyst and foundation for massive investment in that City.

Comments such as ‘Pie-in-the-sky' and ‘Fantasy Island' are difficult to comprehend from those who say they also have the town's future at heart. Whilst expounding a desire to do what is best for the town, perhaps it is more a case of some not wishing to upset the ‘establishment' by pressing for action which will redress the imbalances in Calderdale which sees Brighouse Town centre lagging behind other town's in the Borough? Clearly, by calling others ‘off the wall' and ‘village idiots' you can side-step the real issue, what are you doing to move Brighouse Forward?

Plans for a residential led development, opening up views of the river and weir in Brighouse are called ‘unacceptable' by the Council's former Regeneration Officer.

Deemed appropriate

Plans for new community and health care facilities in Brighouse are called ‘blobbies'. I have no doubt Action Halifax would trade in their ‘gibbet' for such opportunities.

AND

A member of the Road Safety Committee, who was present at the meeting, called this idea ‘not viable'. Why is it viable in Halifax?

The closure of Brighouse pool is excused by saying, the Council has no statutory duty to provide (or maintain) one. Why is it a different story in Todmorden? We take the view that it was wrong to close the old pool before a new one was more a reality. We are all aware of the difficulties and complexities, which beset the development on the Sugden's site, and these were surely enough to have justified a sensible repair of what we still had.

Cleckheaton in Kirklees is much smaller than Brighouse but has had a new bus station for some time. Have we considered ours strategically? Have we now missed the bus?

Mirfield, also in Kirklees which supports Local Area Committees has done much to improve it's relatively small marina. In Brighouse, we have both river and canal fronts as an integral part of the near centre, we have a much greater potential.

Much has been made in the local press about contention between our Partnership and The Brighouse Pride. We have refrained from fuelling this media generated division. As far as Brighouse Forward is concerned there is no contention between the two bodies as there is no real comparison between them. Brighouse Forward is a strategic partnership brining together independent community associations and interests with the statutory service providers. The largest of our voluntary groups is the Brighouse Community Forum which in turn represents many local groups, clubs and associations. Our Partnership is guided and led by a Board, which not only includes the Voluntary and Community Sector, but our schools, local businesses, the Civic Trust and others but also comprises service providers. These providers include Metro, the Primary Care Trust, Brighouse Neighbourhood Policing Team, our Fire Service, Calderdale Forward, Calderdale Future and not forgetting Calderdale Councillors.

Another active committee of Brighouse Forward is the TLC Committee, which organised the Canal-side Children's Art Exhibition in July and provided safety marshals for the Pool's Fix-it campaign march. This Committee studies and brings forward matters concerning tourism, leisure, culture and regeneration. If anything, a comparison between this committee and The Brighouse Pride could be made. However, there are still many differences.

§        TLC organises well-publicised public meetings which are very well attended, it is not a talking shop.

¨        TLC has a wide remit of interests and activities but does not interfere in matters of highway safety, community concerns and town centre business which are dealt with by its sister committees. In short it does not try to do all things for all men but it does deal in detail and diligently with the themes in its title.

©        TLC is not encumbered or influenced by financial support from outside lobby groups such as Tesco, who The Pride seems to rely on. TLC believes there are no free lunches.

ª        TLC actively promotes the Town by supporting and helping with other organisations events as well as organising events of its own. Actions speak louder than words.

Brighouse Forward sees the river and canal as fundamental assets to our town and wants to make more of them. We see a natural and historic bond with the other Calder River towns and communities and seek to foster harmony in order to regenerate that which flows through our respective towns and communities.

Brighouse Forward, in conjunction with Calder Future seeks to promote the towns' water assets and to work with Calderdale's other river towns and communities. We believe that, having the largest population and being uniquely positioned to a motorway access point, Brighouse should be taking more of the lead on river development and regeneration. The 68,000 ‘water' residents are the life-blood of the Borough which is, after all named after the river which binds them all together.

Looking forward, as we must, we await the publication of the Planning Inspectors report and recommendations from the Public Inquiry. As soon as this is to hand, we shall facilitate a meeting of all interested parties, landowners, development agencies and the Council to establish what each needs to make meaningful progress for Brighouse.

In the meantime during 2008, we shall be promoting the many and varied restaurants and centres of healthy and gastronomic excellence which our town has to offer the wider communities of West Yorkshire. We wish also to encourage all the townsfolk to use the e-forum which is linked to http://www.brighousetown.co.uk/. We hope to encourage more visitors to this website by the added attraction of town web-cams in the New Year.

Cllr Paul Rogan, Chairman, Brighouse Forward Partnership, Board & Forum

November 2007. Text only version. Full picture version available soon