[spongemum]

Hi Everyone
I’m from over the border, Shropshire (originally a Brummie) though my sister married a Welsh guy from Llangollen and all her family live in Wales so I get to hear a lot of Welsh news.
I was interested in the Webcasting Public Meetings.
That poor woman Jackie in Carmarthen has fought for more accountancy in local government for years but is now paying the price for taking on the top guy. She was wrongly arrested for filming a planning meeting in 2012.

I have been haranguing our leader, Keith Barrow from Oswestry regarding this having personally been on the receiving end of planning corruption for ten years now due to living opposite a local councillor.

If you look at other councils you’ll see some have been doing this for some years now, some better than others and you can look at agendas google maps and listen to the meeting at the same time live or when ever suits.
Ok you can’t contribute unless arranged beforehand at planning meetings but at least you can see the twists and turns, manipulation of policy etc.
Planning is such an an emotive subject and financially very critical to every taxpayer that it needs to be very open, transparent and accountable.
It’s the one area of the local Council that can actually make money insofar as land value can jump form little to a hell of a lot in one decision,
therefore it is also open to corruption big time.
You are lucky Wales has taken this step, I wish we could put a toe behind Shropshire Council who are claiming they can’t afford to do this despite having just recently given most of our Councillors i Pads! Try and get the local paper behind you is a joke too.
Eric Pickles says what have councils got to hide? Well they’re not going to be able to hide behind him any more!

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