To respond to any questions received from Members of the Council in accordance with Procedure Rule 11.2.
The following question has been received from Cllr Richard Seaborne:
“On 8th June Councillor Deanus sent an email to the Leader, copied to all councillors, requesting details of how the new Executive plans to oversee developments at Dunsfold Park. I followed this up two days later with another open email to the Leader, copied to all councillors, echoing Councillor Deanus’s concern and asking for an explanation of how an Executive drawn exclusively from Farnham and Godalming members will be structured to ensure that issues relating to Cranleigh, Haslemere and the rural wards are fully covered in Executive deliberations.
In response to these two open emails Councillor Deanus has received a personal response and I have heard nothing.
Would the Leader be kind enough to outline to Members, and indeed residents, of wards containing around half of the Borough’s population, how the new Executive will ensure that Cranleigh, Haslemere and the Villages get adequate focus in Executive discussions and particularly how the major development at Dunsfold Park will get the attention it deserves as the single largest new housing development in the Borough?
Councillor Richard Seaborne
Bramley, Busbridge & Hascombe”
Minutes:
15.1 The following question has been received from Cllr Richard Seaborne in accordance with Procedure Rule 11.2:
“On 8th June Councillor Deanus sent an email to the Leader, copied to all councillors, requesting details of how the new Executive plans to oversee developments at Dunsfold Park. I followed this up two days later with another open email to the Leader, copied to all councillors, echoing Councillor Deanus’s concern and asking for an explanation of how an Executive drawn exclusively from Farnham and Godalming members will be structured to ensure that issues relating to Cranleigh, Haslemere and the rural wards are fully covered in Executive deliberations.
In response to these two open emails Councillor Deanus has received a personal response and I have heard nothing.
Would the Leader be kind enough to outline to Members, and indeed residents, of wards containing around half of the Borough’s population, how the new Executive will ensure that Cranleigh, Haslemere and the Villages get adequate focus in Executive discussions and particularly how the major development at Dunsfold Park will get the attention it deserves as the single largest new housing development in the Borough?
Councillor Richard Seaborne
Bramley, Busbridge & Hascombe”
15.2 The Leader of the Council, Cllr John Ward, responded:
“Thank you for your question. As you rightly say I did answer Cllr Deanus’s question and I had thought that my answer had also satisfied your echoing query. However as this is the third time the same question has been asked, possibly for the advantage of the members of the public, the answer will be the same; but with more detail; that the Executive team was chosen on their abilities and not their geographical location. Also it would have been impossible to include all 21 Parishes - but I shall endeavour to put some flesh on the bones of my decision. Before doing so may I correct the impression that the Executive is exclusively from Farnham and Godalming as for instance one member lives in the Frensham, Dockenfield & Tilford Ward which, I know you are well aware, is certainly not in Farnham.
At the last election the public gave a majority of the seats to a combination of the Lib Dems and the Farnham Residents Parties, who decided to form a joint administration. I and the Leader of the Lib Dems believe in meritocracy and so, when selecting members of the Executive from the available pool, those whose talents best fitted the various portfolio roles were offered seats on the Executive. It is obvious that Farnham Residents come exclusively from Farnham and by a quirk of the election process a large number of Lib Dems and other non-Tories were elected in the Godalming area. Whilst I congratulate the last, very large, administration in managing to create a geographically balanced Executive team, I did not have the luxury of size they enjoyed and my prime concern was, as I have pointed out earlier, the skills and availability of Councillors, not where individuals lived.
I am confident that all those on the Executive will do their utmost to improve the lives of all the residents of the Borough and will not be so parochial as to attempt to favour the residents who live near to them. The members of my Executive are deeply hurt and insulted by the insinuation of bias apparent in continued, politically motivated, questions.
I can also assure you that the concerns you have expressed over Dunsfold are unfounded and we are taking great interest in ensuring that this area is developed in a speedy and constructive manner. In addition to the usual work in progress, I and a number of my Executive have already been down to Dunsfold to have a meeting with the owner, as pictured in this week’s Haslemere Herald, and the Deputy Leader, the Planning Portfolio Holder and I are scheduled to meet with him again next week. Regular meetings will continue and we are in the late stages of the process of establishing a Dunsfold Park Garden Village Governance Board which will include both Executive and local members.
Finally, may I gently remind you that no such concerns of geography seemed to trouble you when at the last Election your Party nominated a swarm of candidates from Haslemere, Godalming, Churt and other places to stand for Farnham seats? Also, as we all know, the Haslemere and Cranleigh areas have a number of Conservative Councillors and when choosing the Executive I offered places on it to all the Parties but the Conservative leadership declined the offer. Perhaps these sudden concerns about geographical representation might be better directed elsewhere?“
15.3 The Deputy Leader, Cllr Paul Follows, added that he understood that no one from Cranleigh had served on the Executive for the last 11 years of Conservative control; and that all councillors had signed a declaration of acceptance of office as Waverley Members, not just representatives of their Ward.
Secretary’s note:
Subsequent to the Council meeting, it was noted that:
Cllr Mike Band (Cons), ward Member for Cranleigh North and Shamley Green, was a member of the Executive from May 2007 to May 2014.
Cllr Stewart Stennett (Cons), ward Member for Cranleigh East, was a member of the Executive from December 2014 to August 2015.
Cllr Kevin Deanus (Cons), ward Member for Alfold, Cranleigh Rural and Ellen’s Green, was a member of the Executive from May 2015 to May 2019.