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Woodrow was right to express concerns
• I AM writing on behalf of the Bloomsbury Conservation Area Advisory Committee. The hearings of the Adjudication Panel for England into the alleged misconduct of Councillor Brian Woodrow were an education.
I now know the crucial difference between predetermination (closed mind) and predisposition (provisional view, however strongly held, capable of being changed by relevant argument or factor).
It has been held that having a predisposition does not violate a decision. It is open to doubt whether senior officers at Camden or English Heritage would pass this test. They seemed determined, come hell or high water, to get the King’s Cross applications approved.
I consider Brian Woodrow’s consistently expressed concern about this major application being dealt with in outline was fully justified.
Too often local authority officers push procedure and in so doing attempt to allay fears of local communities by suggesting the imposition of conditions.
These can prove worse than useless, can be subject to alteration or deletion. The decision of Camden Council to approve the outline application has meant that one of the largest developments in Europe has not been subject to the sort of detailed scrutiny which the government’s own advice in PPG15 urges so far as developments affecting listed buildings and conservation areas are concerned.
The thanks that Cllr Woodrow gets for his all efforts to protect the public interest is to be subjected to this lengthy, arduous and expensive procedure.
Happily, Ms Lowton no longer works for the council. I have had personal dealings with her in the past and always found her to be unhelpful.
Peter Bishop is also on his way to work under Mayor Livingstone. No doubt smoothing the passage of this mega development did no harm to his job prospects.
I would urge your excellent paper to organise a fund-raiser for Brian to help him meet his legal costs. His barrister, Robert Mccracken, was a class act but that sort of assistance doesn’t come cheap. We can only hope that the legal challenge currently being mounted to Camden’s decision will succeed.
TONY TUGUTT
Burton Street, WC1
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