Planning chairman is reported to the Standards Board

Cllr Brian Woodrow

THE divisive row over Camden Council’s handling of major planning applications in King’s Cross intensified this week when the Town Hall’s most senior lawyer called for an end to wildfire rumour on the dispute.
Furious Alison Lowton, the borough solicitor, said that journalists should stick to factual statements distributed by the council’s press office instead of reporting speculation.
The unrest follows Ms Lowton’s reporting of planning chairman Councillor Brian Woodrow to the council watchdog, the Standards Board of England and Wales.
Cllr Woodrow stands accused of speaking out about the redevelopment of land behind King’s Cross and St Pancras stations – Europe’s biggest construction project, valued at £2 billion.
He has taken legal advice and is not commenting on the investigation. A council press official said that there was no timescale for the inquiry.
She said: “We have had acknowledgment from the Standards Board and are awaiting a reply.”
Ms Lowton, however, fired off an angry letter to trade newspaper Architects Journal, published on Thursday.
She took umbrage to an article in the magazine which said that Cllr Woodrow had been “barred” from meetings and claims that the planning chief had been reported to the Standards Board simply because of comments made to the Architects Journal last year.
Ms Lowton wrote: “I would be grateful if, instead of speculating on this situation, the reports you publish reflect the clear and factual statements you have been given on this matter.
“The King’s Cross site is one of the largest brownfield development sites in Europe and it is the responsibility of Camden Council to ensure that any related planning applications are handled with the utmost professionalism.”
Meanwhile, Cllr Woodrow has become entangled in a new row with a heritage campaigner.
Terence Ewing, founder of the Euston Trust, a preservation society which takes a microscopic interest in all of Camden’s development applications, has called for Cllr Woodrow’s removal.
He outlined concerns in a stinging letter to Town Hall leader Councillor Dame Jane Roberts.
His message said: “We have ourselves appeared before his committee on a number of occasions in connection with planning applications and have found him to be rude, dictatorial and domineering in his approach to objectors.”
But Cllr Woodrow responded: “We have an established procedure for deputations with which we comply. They are properly heard. I have to call people to order at meetings. It’s not easy but we deal with all applications in the light of policy. I have had to stop (Mr Ewing) at meetings in the past but we have carefully balanced rules.”