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Official 'did not lie' over Sugden's
A SENIOR council officer has been cleared of any attempt to mislead a public inquiry into plans for redeveloping the Sugden's Mill site in Brighouse.
An investigation by legal experts Weight-mans, of Liverpool, deided: "The council did not deliberately withhold evidence, present false evidence or lie to the inquiry or the objector.
"The council made genuine attempts to respond to sometimes ambiguous questions."
Younger Homes, which had objected to the council's plans to compulsorily purchase land for a swimming pool, shops and a car park, claimed the authority's regeneration manager, Adrian Rose, presented "false evidence" and "fraud" to get its way.
"We have found that the witness did not mislead the inquiry, deliberately or otherwise," according to the six-page report sent today to councillors by Graeme Creer, a partner at Weightmans.
"But a fuller examination of the files should have been carried out and if this had happened some of the criticism would not have come to light."
Mr Creer has recommended the council tightens its administrative procedures at future large-scale inquiries.
The outcome of last year's inquiry was that the council failed to get the go-ahead to acquire the Sugden's land and the multi-million pound redevelopment scheme fell through.
Council chief executive Owen Williams said today that, based on legal and planning advice, there would be no request for a judicial review to try to overturn the decision.
It has now been decided to build a new swimming pool at Wellholme Park.
"The council has taken the allegations concerning the public inquiry extremely seriously, and the report has identified a number of areas where the council needs to improve procedures," he said.
That involves what he described as a "significant shift" in its approach to major projects and a review of all those in the pipeline before June.
"We want to ensure they are managed in a way that makes senior officers more accountable, reduces risk and ensures delivery."
Police and external auditors have reviewed Weightmans' conclusions and have confirmed they will not be pursuing any criminal charges against the council or any of employees.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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