Mayor’s anger at EDDC treatment of Ottery at LDF panel
Ottery Town Council is furious at its treatment at a crucial meeting with the district council top discuss the town’s future.
Mayor Glyn Dobson said they would ask for an apology for the way he was treated on Tuesday when he spoke to EDDC’s Local Development Framework (LDF).
He spoke at Wednesday’s town council planning meeting in West Hill of his disgust at the way the EDDC meeting was chaired and felt Ottery was marginalised.
Seven East Devon towns were asked to draft a response to the panel’s strategy document for housing growth and deliver it at Tuesday’s meeting, but Cllr Dobson felt Councillor Mike Allen went back on his word about letting the mayor speak about West Hill and other surrounding villages to Ottery, which fall under the town council’s purview.
On Wednesday the mayor produced a series of emails, the last of which was from the chairman of the LDF panel, Cllr Allen, to Ottery district councillor Claire Wright, and appeared to say Ottery Town council would be able to speak about its entire parish at Tuesday’s meeting.
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But on the day Mr Dobson was cut short and told this was not the right forum for his comments, as was Dick Beardsall from the West Hill residents association, although he was at least allowed to have his three minute say.
Glyn Dobson said: “I started reading our statement for 30 seconds before being stopped and told I wasn’t there to talk about West Hill.
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“In my opinion the chairman was completely out of order.”
Cllr Wright and another Ottery representative Councillor Roger Giles tried to intervene and say this was previously agreed, but the chairman said West Hill, Tipton St John and Alfington should have attended the LDF panel meeting for villages instead.
