Letter to the Editor in response to an editorial in the Herts Advertiser on 24 November 2011

__to:  The Editor
Herts Advertiser                                                                                 25 November 2011


Dear Sir

A response is in order to the editorial (24 Nov 2011) claiming that the Civic Society exerts any direct control over planning decisions in the district. Presumably the Editor made his comments as a consequence of the fact that the Society chose to exercise the established democratic right to address for 3 minutes a recent planning committee meeting.

On behalf of the Society, I made the address to the meeting, emphasising our support for the principle of hotel development in the city centre. We too seek to enhance St Albans with high quality development that will draw in visitors to stay in hotels and spend more money to help the local economy. However, I agreed with the recommendation in the committee report that the design of the proposed hotel building at the top of St Peter's Street was still unsatisfactory and contrary to policy in the Local Plan and the direction of travel in the draft Core Strategy. I urged councillors on the committee to refuse permission and support their own planning officers. After I had spoken, the applicant took the opportunity, as is his right, to address the committee for 3 minutes. Councillors then had a debate and voted 5 to 4 to refuse. That is the democratic planning process in action.

Readers can rest assured, as can any councillors who might possibly be worried about the integrity of their colleagues, that the Society does not operate in a cabal involving any councillor. To do so would be contrary to the national Code of Conduct governing decision-making. The planning officers, councillors and English Heritage, the latter a statutory consultee, all came to their decisions independently and to imply otherwise is incorrect.

In your editorial dated 29 April 2010 you said:

Wherever you stand on the need or otherwise for a Civic Society, there is plenty to thank the bunch of stalwarts for over the years and a relief to know that despite the loss of some of its long-serving members, there will be others coming up behind to keep it going." (Herts Advertiser 29/4/10).

That is how we function still. We are transparent and plain-speaking, and there is nothing underhand about the affairs of the Society.

Peter Trevelyan
Vice-chair St Albans Civic Society