BRIAN Woodrow, the Town Hall’s planning chief, was yesterday (Wednesday) reported to the Standards Board after refusing to quit discussions on the £2-billion redevelopment of King’s Cross, writes Richard Osley.
The Labour councillor (pictured) is accused of commenting publicly on the planning blueprint for works planned for land behind King’s Cross and St Pancras station. The applications have yet to be fully heard.
Cllr Woodrow declined to respond to a legal warning from the Borough Solicitor Alison Lowton which warned he could no longer be seen to be impartial when chairing discussions connected to the scheme.
Labour party members failed to resolve the controversy at a private session at the Town Hall on Monday night. Insiders said the issue was hardly discussed by members at the meeting, which Cllr Woodrow did attend.
Chief whip Councillor Dermot Greene said: “The Borough Solicitor’s report was noted and it is now expected that she will report the matter to the Standards Board.”
The council confirmed yesterday that contact with the Standards Board of England, the watchdog that investigates breaches in code of conduct, had been made.
A press official said: “The council’s view is that there is a significant risk that Cllr Woodrow either will not, or will not be seen, to act in an impartial or objective manner in dealing with these applications.
“A letter from the director of law and administration written to Cllr Woodrow on February 4 formally advised him that that he should not take part in any discussion regarding the King’s Cross Opportunity Area planning applications and, although he could be present, he would have to demonstrate clearly that he was not participating in any decisions.”
She added: “The letter stated that failure to follow the advice was likely to bring the council into disrepute and this would therefore be likely to place him in breach of the Member Code of Conduct. There has been no response to this letter. The Director of Law and Administration has therefore reported the matter to the Standards Board for England (SBE).”
Contacted by the New Journal yesterday (Wednesday), Cllr Woodrow, Chairman of the committee since 1998, declined to comment.
He is pointing to comments made at the last meeting of his committee when he insisted he had done nothing wrong.