Public shut out again in secret talks about Burton and Uttoxeter town …

More important decisions about Burton and Uttoxeter’s town centres are being made behind closed doors at East Staffordshire Borough Council. Last week members of the public and press were shut out of discussions relating to the future of the market hall ^[1]

Now documents relating to the plan to completely transform Burton town centre, with a new tourist destination to be created around Bass House, have been kept private. A report commissioned by the council into the feasibility of the project has also been kept secret.

The report, produced by consultancy Amion, contains case study information including potential difficulties in getting the project off the ground. The 2023 Labour manifesto promised to improve local democracy and consultation, but since the party took control in May, only three out of 21 council meetings have not had a ‘private agenda’.

Councillors were quick to criticise the administration on keeping the report private. Councillor Steve Sankey (Con) remarked: “I really would like an explanation of why it could not be presented as part of this with redactions in small amounts because a lot of people and the press want to know what’s happening and I don’t see personally why that is happening.”

This was the first council meeting to be live-streamed, a move that was also a commitment made in the Labour manifestoCouncillor Phil Hudson (Con) said sarcastically: “Can I congratulate this open and transparent Labour administration, on the first time we’ve got webcast and we’re going to discuss these very important issues in private at the end of the meeting. So well done on that.”

This was the first meeting which was made available to be livestreamed

There were several other items on the private agenda, including an update on the progression of the Maltings precinct regeneration in Uttoxeter ^[4] and two urgent decisions. Commenting on the Amion report, Councillor Adam Clarke (Con) said: “I find it concerning that the project and some of the great examples within the case study are hidden from the public – they could have been easily, with minimal redactions to the report, been put to the public to get their involvement.”

Opposition leader George Allen: “Councils always have to make decisions and have decisions to make and a lot of the factors are commercially sensitive and I agree parts if the report would always have had to have been redacted. But as Councillor Clarke mentioned, there are a lot of good examples of how this vision could be brought to life that exist elsewhere.

“They are all in the Amion report and we can’t really discuss that because it’s all in private and it’s just a shame because I know the public would be very interested to see the concepts. Again, they want to pass comment, they want to say whether they support it or not, but they can’t do that, mainly because it’s in private and because there is no consultation. So it’s difficult.”

The council leader, Mick Fitzpatrick attempted to justify keeping the report private, telling councillors: “I personally believe that a member of the public picking up the document that has been redacted and got loads of black lines through it, what would their perception be of that? It’d be ‘what are you trying to hide?’.

“There are potential partners mentioned in there, there are people who have assisted us getting this far mentioned in there, there are finances mentioned in there. That’s why at this time it can’t be in the public domain.”

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References

^{^} public and press were shut out of discussions relating to the future of the market hall (www.staffordshire-live.co.uk)
^{^} High street decline worsens as quarter of Burton town centre shops now lie empty (www.staffordshire-live.co.uk)
^{^} Prisoners given green light to live outside South Derbyshire jail’s secure fence (www.staffordshire-live.co.uk)
^{^} Uttoxeter (www.staffordshire-live.co.uk)
^{^} Sign up for free email alerts to StaffordshireLive straight to your inbox here (data.reachplc.com)
^{^} visit InYourArea (www.inyourarea.co.uk)