Alistair Chisholm‘s letter (last Wednesday’s Echo) on decision making at West Dorset DC was entertaining.

However, my colleague did not mention that for many years WDDC officers have organised briefing sessions for all members on significant issues and budget matters. Thus members are able to seek to influence matters at a relatively early stage in the decision making process. It is seldom the case that officers present papers to the executive without prior consideration with members at committees or via presentations etc. Moreover, Alistair failed to mention members are free to attend executive meetings in addition to influencing the debate by the usual methods.

As far as ‘a council where part whipping plays a significant role’ is concerned I can advise that my group (Conservatives) do not ‘whip’. Admittedly we will often vote the same way but not on every occasion. When I was a Lib Dem there may have been a little more pressure to vote with the group, although to be fair a minority group will wish to maximise their vote.

Logically, it is unlikely the executive would willingly accept an officer’s recommendation or make a decision contrary to the wish of the majority of members since such decisions will usually require endorsement by the full council.

Alistair chose to mention the new WDDC Offices – again. Interestingly, the possibility of new offices at Charles Street was suggested more than 10 years ago, to my knowledge. As he is aware the costs of the WDDC have come out at under £10million and these costs are offset by the staff and running cost savings – plus the monies achieved from the sale of the old complex. And objectors to the scheme don’t mention the fact there would have had to been significant expenditure on those old buildings to make them fit for purpose had we stayed put.

Suffice to say that that the move is delivering savings – one of the reasons our council was able to freeze the council tax whilst maintaining services. With regard to including the Came View site in the draft Local Plan: As Local Planning Auth-ority, WDDC is required to allocate adequate sites for housing for 2016-2031 in sustainable locations.

Failure to do so would give developers the opportunity to seek to develop on less suitable sites.

Should we not seek to control our own destiny?

The Came View site has been promoted and we need to consult on its suitability or otherwise. Whether the Came View site gets into the Local Plan submitted to the Government inspector depends in part on the outcome of these consultations. However, Alistair was also incorrect in blaming the executive for a decision that has not yet been taken.

Ian Gardner Chairman, WDDC Development Control Committee