Conduct concerns raised over planning meeting
29/09/2025
“If that’s democracy in action, that’s not very edifying”
by Nadia Lincoln, Local Democracy Reporter
Concerns have been raised about the ‘deeply embarrassing’ conduct of a planning meeting, where a West Northamptonshire (WNC) councillor was accused of reading from a script and coming to the meeting pre-decided.
At a meeting on Tuesday, September 23, controversial plans for a bioenergy plant near Evenley were approved, in front of a packed public audience watching the decision.
After listening to planning officers and speeches from members of the public, Cllr David Gaskell (Reform UK, Kingsthorpe South) began the debate, listing off some of the benefits of the scheme and what he had taken from the committee’s site visit to another bioenergy facility.
He was stopped mid-speech by other panel members, who accused him of reading from a detailed script on his laptop, which they alleged had been written before the meeting, and therefore came to the session predetermined.
According to the LGA advice for councillors making planning decisions, members of a planning committee need to avoid any appearance of bias or having ‘predetermined’ views. It goes on to say that if a decision maker has predetermined their position, they should withdraw from being a member of the decision-making body.
A WNC spokesperson said that it provides robust training and that it ensures its meetings “follow the laws on pre-determination”.
Cllr Gaskell originally told members that he had taken notes and was typing them as the meeting went along, but later said that he had written them after the site visit so he could remember information. He insisted that he had listened to the speakers and come to the meeting with an open mind on the plans.
A back and forth then ensued, of councillors saying that if the member was to vote on the application, it could become an unreliable decision or bring the committee into ‘disrepute’. However, a legal advisor and the committee chair ruled that he would be able to take part in the vote and that it was ultimately his decision if he had come with an ‘open mind’.
‘It felt like our concern was nothing’
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) after the meeting, Barley Mow resident Cherril Smith likened the meeting to a ‘kid’s classroom’ with no one seeming to take control or know what they were doing.
She said: “He had already made up his mind and he wasn’t going to change his mind. I just had the feeling that it was going to go through anyway from how they were speaking.
“Even the committee members were arguing amongst themselves – that’s not right. It was quite upsetting to see them be like that.
“It felt like our concern was nothing.”
Cathy Ellis, who attended the meeting and spoke on behalf of Evenley Parish Council, has also raised concerns about the impression the running of the meeting left on local residents, who may not have interacted with WNC before.
She said: “If that’s democracy in action, that’s not very edifying.
“We have got nothing against [the developers] and we will work with them in the future, but that was not a great show for the residents of this village.
“It was wrong, and in my opinion, it was pre-determined. It took [another committee member] to raise the matter with the chairman to stop it. It’s not how these meetings should be structured and held.
“If West Northamptonshire Council really are serious about cleaning up their planning department, they need to make sure that their meetings in public, with a lot of people watching, are done so properly.
“It was deeply embarrassing and as a resident of this county, I’m ashamed of my own planning department.”
“They were let down”
Cllr Rosie Humphreys (Liberal Democrat, Braunston and Crick), who was present on the panel and spoke up at the time, said she has since raised concerns about the incident with the monitoring officer.
She added: “I was very taken aback that WNC’s solicitor did not acknowledge that this was a prepared script and at the very least suggest that Cllr Gaskell did not vote.
“I think the issue highlights the inexperience of a large number of the Reform committee members. It must have been distressing for the residents attending to witness such disarray.
“Residents need to have confidence that planning decisions made by committee follow the Planning Protocol in WNC’s Constitution, especially when an application is as controversial as the one at Evenley. They were let down at this committee meeting.”
A WNC spokesperson told the LDRS that it does not provide a policy for members on note-taking or scripts at its meetings, but that it ensures its meetings “follow the laws on pre-determination”.
“The council provides robust training to all councillors on the code of conduct, their responsibilities around statutory decision making and law, with Planning Committee members also receiving regular refresher training on their specific duties,” they added.
Cllr David Gaskell has refused to comment.
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
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