IT WOULD appear from his letter (August 12) on the College Road/Dandara
proposal that Gareth Thomas MP's transition from government to opposition hasn't hindered his ability to make things up.First of all, he makes a bit of a fool of himself by complaining that Boris Johnson didn't call-in the application, because the mayor can only do this after local planning committees have made their decisions.
Did Gareth Thomas not read any of the Greater London Authority legislation he voted for?
In this instance, the mayor was aware that Harrow's Planning Committee had refused the application, and informed us that he was satisfied with our decision.
Therefore, there was no need for him to call it in, nor for us to ask him to intervene.
Gareth Thomas then alleges that 'from conservations [he] had at the time, [he] came to believe the ruling Conservative councillors wanted this proposal to go ahead'.
I can only presume that these conversations were held exclusively with himself, because there's no other reason why he'd come to such an asinine conclusion.
Our councillors in Greenhill ward spoke strongly against the proposals on behalf of their residents, while those on the committee itself observed their legal duty to consider the application on its own merits and failings - without prejudgment.
After considering a detailed report from officers, as well as conducting an extensive site visit, we were minded to refuse the application.
Is Gareth Thomas alleging that the Labour members of the committee had instead made up their minds from the beginning, thus breaching their legal obligations?
That Gareth Thomas persists in his politically motivated and factually inept comments on this proposal, even after its rejection by both our administration and the new Secretary of State, suggests that for him, this issue has always been about playing political games rather than representing his constituents.
COUNCILLOR JOYCE NICKOLAY Conservative planning spokesman Harrow Council
