A Good Day at the Office
Today there was a meeting of the county Planning Committee. No decisions affected Derwentside directly, so I found myself in a position I will become increasingly familiar with - making decisions about areas I am unfamiliar with which will affect people I will never meet.
One decision was particularly difficult. A proposal to use a former landfill site for composting of green waste was before the committee, and a site visit had been ordered.
On the one hand there is clearly a need for such composting on environmental grounds. On the other, there was a clearly inadequate and potentially dangerous access, and some wider questions about the suitability of the site.
The best thing about the process was that there was real debate. Local people put their case with passion, and it was clear that councillors were carefully weighing up the arguments before reaching their decision.
In the event I cast my vote for what proved to be the majority view. But if the decision had gone the other way I would still have been satisfied with the process.
I’m sorry if I’ve bored you by writing about something that has nothing to do with my role as your councillor. I just thought it was good to record the fact that there are good days at the office!
I’ll save venting my frustration for the next meeting.
have your say
