Tory councillors demand SBC Cabinet reconsiders Highworth Golf Course decision

A Swindon Borough Council Cabinet decision to move ahead with a plan to build 700 homes on the former Highworth Golf Course has prompted four opposition councillors to call in the report.

They have also accused council leader Cllr Jim Robbins of misleading the public over the issue on social media - a claim he has vigorously refuted along with the opposition councillors' other claims.

Among other complaints the Conservative councillors - Steve Weisinger, Vijay Manro, Nick Gardiner and Dan Adams - say some Cabinet members failed to read the relevant papers before making their decision.

At a recent meeting the Cabinet voted to take the 700-home option to pre-planning rather than alternatives involving either 400 homes or for using the land to create a country park.

Cllr Weisinger said: “Certain Cabinet members admitted in public to not having read the Cabinet Report. How can a councillor make a decision if they haven’t read the report, they would not know its content and are ignorant of the facts?

"The Chief Legal officer advised Cabinet that those members who had not read the report should not vote but they ignored her and voted - is that a good example to set?

"Does is set an unacceptable precedence?  The actual answer the chief legal officer gave the answer below to my question about should cabinet members vote if they haven’t read the report was 'members have to be satisfied they have read the report in order for them to make a decision.'

"I feel disappointed that Highworth residents and other Swindon residents have to accept this decision without it receiving even the most basic attention by Cabinet Members. We expect openness, honesty and accountability from our councillors.

"In fact we demand it through the Nolan Principles that all those in Public Life are expected to uphold. These principles were sadly lacking in the decision making at the Cabinet meeting. ”

Cllr Gardiner said: “It feels as though the Labour administration in Swindon is treating Highworth and its residents as a political pawn in a wider game to secure control next year. There’s little sign they genuinely care about local views, especially when it comes to protecting our town’s only accessible green space, which is valued for year-round public use.

"To them, it seems the land is simply a cash opportunity to cover financial mismanagement, including recent self-awarded pay rises and the recruitment of yet more senior officers. Highworth deserves better than to be sacrificed for short-term political gain.”

In an official document submitted to council chief executive Samantha Mowbray, the four say the decision should be reconsidered because Cabinet failed to consider important details and legitimate alternative options about the site when making their decision.

The Conservative councillors accuse Swindon Borough Council Leader Cllr Jim Robbins of misleading the public on social media by saying a lease of the land to Highworth Town Council would be illegal, and also say Cabinet Member for Finance Cllr Kevin Small misled the Cabinet by stating that matters of traffic, highways and infrastructure were not for Cabinet to consider, but for the planning process.

In the document submitted to the chief executive, the Conservative councillors also say:

- Cabinet members admitted failing to read the report or ask any questions but still voted on a report they knew nothing about.

- When the vote was taken, the Leader failed to count the votes before announcing the decision had been approved.

- Cabinet discussed the report in private and agreed to proceed with the report recommendations before the report was published, therefore predetermining the formal public meeting and paying lip service to the genuine concerns of residents.

The document makes other complaints, including failing to consider a covenant dating back more than 50 years, which they say contained a covenant that it should be used as a golf course or open green space only,  failing to set out reasoning of what they term an arbitrary increase to 50 percent affordable housing and failing to consult local ward councillors or the public.

In a response to the document, Cllr Robbins said: "We totally understand the passion that some residents of Highworth feel for the Old Golf Course and that they are resistant to seeing potential housebuilding on the site.  We are quite happy for local Councillors to use their right to call-in the decision but we are very surprised by the reasons that they have chosen.

''I'm stunned to find out that they are accusing me of not counting the votes before announcing the decision. The video of the event clearly shows me looking both ways, seeing that all of the cabinet members had raised their hands, and then announcing the result. It was immediately clear that it was a unanimous decision.

"The video also shows the immediate response from some of the audience who could also recognise the result straight away. I've no idea why the ward Councillors couldn't.

"The Cabinet had clearly discussed the report prior to the meeting. We have had many conversations about Highworth and potential options over the past year.  The whole Cabinet have been included on those conversations and seen all of the documentation many times.

"This doesn't mean that we had predetermined the decision, we increased public questions from the usual 15 minutes to almost two hours to ensure that we had heard from as many Highworth residents as possible and listened to arguments from the ward councillors.

"Just because those arguments weren't persuasive enough to stop us deciding to further investigate the options available to us with a pre-application discussion with the Planning team is not evidence of pre-determination.

"We'll be happy to discuss the decision at Scrutiny, but we are confident that we are taking the prudent action of getting as much information as possible before making a final decision on what to do with the golf course land, and will make a decision that we believe to be right for the people of Swindon."

The councillors list alternative options for the future of the site, including:

- Agreeing a tenancy of up to seven years with Highworth Town Council, in line with the S123 of the Local Government Act 1972 (LGA 1972) and is exempt from best value considerations.

- Agreeing to designate the former Highworth Golf Course as a Country Park, with no lease arrangements.

- Consult the public on what alternative uses the site could be used for such as inclusion with the Great Western Community Forest.

- Take no action, and retain as green open space.

The Conservative councillors urge the Cabinet reconsider their decision and agree to discuss a site tenancy of up to seven years with Highworth Town Council, in line with the S123 of the Local Government Act 1972 (LGA 1972) - being exempt from best value considerations.