PaulRogan

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.