Walsall planning committee fallout continues as long-serving member quits
A long-standing member of Walsall Council’s planning committee has resigned claiming he was ‘thrown under the bus’ by his own group leader.
Councillor Paul Bott of the Labour group made the decision to quit the committee in response to comments made about it by group leader Councillor Matt Ward.
The fallout centres around a planning report published last week which details an assessment of the authority’s planning services.
The peer review praised the council’s planning officers but raised several concerns about the planning committee, stating that it required a ‘fundamental overhaul’.
In response to the critical review, Councillor Ward said last week that the planning committee is ‘plagued by perceptions of undue influence, blurred roles and political interference’.
But Councillor Bott, who has served on the committee for two decades, has hit out at the leader, saying he has tarred everyone with the same brush, including the two other members from the Labour group.
He said: “Matt Ward has criticised the committee and said we’re all corrupt. I’m not corrupt.
“I’ve been on the planning committee for 20 years and I’ve been fair and honest with every decision.
“He’s thrown the three Labour representatives on the planning committee under the bus.
“All he has done is played politics with the report. I thought it was shameful of the leader. He ought to apologise.”
Councillor Ward said: “My comments were not directed at any individual councillor, labour or otherwise.
“They were a direct response to an independent and damning external report which highlights serious, long-standing issues around perceptions of undue influence, poor decision-making and a lack of impartiality within Walsall Council’s planning committee.
“It is absolutely right, and my duty as leader of the opposition, to hold the council to account when an independent review makes such serious findings that risk damaging public trust and harming regeneration in our borough.
“I fully recognise that labour members on the committee work hard and act with integrity, and my statement was never intended to suggest otherwise.
“If I had any concerns about the conduct of Labour councillors, those would have been addressed directly.
“I regret if Councillor Bott feels personally hurt by my comments AS that was never the intention.
"But we cannot shy away from what this report says or pretend these problems don’t exist.
"Walsall deserves a planning system that is fair, transparent and trusted by everyone.”
