Councillor criticised for revealing details of Darwen planning application

9:00am Saturday 1st September 2012 in News

A COUNCILLOR faces being rapped on the knuckles and removed from the a planning committee by council standards chiefs over behaviour branded “disgraceful” by a senior colleague.

Sudell ward Liberal Democrat Paul Browne found himself in the middle of a furious row at Blackburn with Darwen borough’s full council forum over remarks he made to the Lancashire Telegraph about planners ordering a Darwen shop owner to remove new PVC windows from his premises.

Coun Browne, a member of the borough planning committee, described the decision to order Steve Frisby to take down the frames from Jack’s Discount Furniture on Croft Street as “barmy and stupid”.

At the forum on Thursday night, angry committee chairman Jim Smith launched a strongly worded attack on the LibDem for discussing private items on the planning agenda in breach of the council’s code of conduct.

Borough Labour leader Kate Hollern said she was referring Coun Browne to the authority’s legal director David Fairclough for breaking the rules governing confidential “Part Two” items on the committee agenda.

Coun Smith said: “Paul shouting his mouth off about a private part two item on the agenda was disgraceful. I am disgusted by what he did. He is out of order.”

But Coun Browne was unrepentant about his actions: “When can you talk about a private item? The public have a right to know what happens. This is using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Coun Smith was out of order.

“Mr Frisby was just doing what other premises in the Darwen conservation area are doing.”

Mr Fairclough said: “The rules around the disclosure of confidential information are governed by the Code of Conduct for Councillors and any potential breaches will be assessed on a case by case basis.”

His staff will now look into the complaint and can report Coun Browne to the authority’s standards committee, which can recommend the full council to censure him if it finds him in breach of the rules.

He could then be removed from the planning and other council committees, ordered to undertake training on council procedures and removed from any outside bodies where he represents the borough.

Comments (12)

9:15am Sat 1 Sep 12

jack daniels says...

So coun Smith is disgusted by this. He should get off his bottom and take a look at the mess he and the rest of his chums have made of this town if he wants to be disgusted.

Good on you Browne for showing some backbone and remembering that it's the people you answer to and not the failures at the town hall
So coun Smith is disgusted by this. He should get off his bottom and take a look at the mess he and the rest of his chums have made of this town if he wants to be disgusted. Good on you Browne for showing some backbone and remembering that it's the people you answer to and not the failures at the town hall jack daniels

9:34am Sat 1 Sep 12

Excluded again says...

I'm sure everyone would be delighted with the principle that Councillors can reveal their confidential details whenever they want.

Let's have a free for all. If a Councillor can find out any information the Council holds about you, then he or she can broadcast it to the world.

Doesn't sound too good, does it?
I'm sure everyone would be delighted with the principle that Councillors can reveal their confidential details whenever they want. Let's have a free for all. If a Councillor can find out any information the Council holds about you, then he or she can broadcast it to the world. Doesn't sound too good, does it? Excluded again

9:45am Sat 1 Sep 12

useyourhead says...

Are they so concerned with him speaking about it, or the fact he criticised a decision?
-
who rang the telegraph in the first place?
-
fuller facts please.
Are they so concerned with him speaking about it, or the fact he criticised a decision? - who rang the telegraph in the first place? - fuller facts please. useyourhead

9:46am Sat 1 Sep 12

ROVERSCAN says...

When you think about it a camel is a racehorse designed by a commitee, thats about all some of the jobsworth planners and there council bosses (stooges) are about,
When you think about it a camel is a racehorse designed by a commitee, thats about all some of the jobsworth planners and there council bosses (stooges) are about, ROVERSCAN

10:08am Sat 1 Sep 12

darwen_celeb says...

The UPVC windows look horrendous and should be replaced. Whoever fitted them is a vandal. It's good to see the council taking some pride in how the town is presented and I hope this debacle doesn't hinder their motivation to improve the appearance of the CBD. Paul Browne should be entitled to vocalise his opinion whether he's for or against change, this action spotlights the subject. Penalising him is petty.

What I'd like to see is the council start to limit the the number of types of shops in town, we already have enough (if not too many):

Fried chicken takeaways, Hairdressers, Discount shops, Bookies and Charity shops.

It was great when the council forced the signage to be changed on Miami Chicken, this directive should be developed and all signage in town audited, most of it is badly design and cheaply presented. This sounds trivial, but this simple act would make the town look miles better.
The UPVC windows look horrendous and should be replaced. Whoever fitted them is a vandal. It's good to see the council taking some pride in how the town is presented and I hope this debacle doesn't hinder their motivation to improve the appearance of the CBD. Paul Browne should be entitled to vocalise his opinion whether he's for or against change, this action spotlights the subject. Penalising him is petty. What I'd like to see is the council start to limit the the number of types of shops in town, we already have enough (if not too many): Fried chicken takeaways, Hairdressers, Discount shops, Bookies and Charity shops. It was great when the council forced the signage to be changed on Miami Chicken, this directive should be developed and all signage in town audited, most of it is badly design and cheaply presented. This sounds trivial, but this simple act would make the town look miles better. darwen_celeb

10:29am Sat 1 Sep 12

Pan-cake says...

If BwD council are taking some action against inappropriate shop fronts in the conservation area of Darwen, then I may be encouraged to support transfer of great Harwood into BwD. Hyndburn Bc are currently allowing carte blanche to the various takeaways etc in the conservation area of Great Harwood. It would be interesting to know when was the last time the planning department took an interest in any new shop front or shutters in the town.
If BwD council are taking some action against inappropriate shop fronts in the conservation area of Darwen, then I may be encouraged to support transfer of great Harwood into BwD. Hyndburn Bc are currently allowing carte blanche to the various takeaways etc in the conservation area of Great Harwood. It would be interesting to know when was the last time the planning department took an interest in any new shop front or shutters in the town. Pan-cake

11:25am Sat 1 Sep 12

darwenTower says...

Darwen celeb said,
"It was great when the council forced the signage to be changed on Miami Chicken, this directive should be developed and all signage in town audited, most of it is badly design and cheaply presented. This sounds trivial, but this simple act would make the town look miles better."

It looks better than it will when the supermarket comes to Duckworth st, the shops will all be boarded up.
Darwen celeb said, "It was great when the council forced the signage to be changed on Miami Chicken, this directive should be developed and all signage in town audited, most of it is badly design and cheaply presented. This sounds trivial, but this simple act would make the town look miles better." It looks better than it will when the supermarket comes to Duckworth st, the shops will all be boarded up. darwenTower

2:09pm Sat 1 Sep 12

A Darener says...

darwen_celeb wrote:
The UPVC windows look horrendous and should be replaced. Whoever fitted them is a vandal. It's good to see the council taking some pride in how the town is presented and I hope this debacle doesn't hinder their motivation to improve the appearance of the CBD. Paul Browne should be entitled to vocalise his opinion whether he's for or against change, this action spotlights the subject. Penalising him is petty.

What I'd like to see is the council start to limit the the number of types of shops in town, we already have enough (if not too many):

Fried chicken takeaways, Hairdressers, Discount shops, Bookies and Charity shops.

It was great when the council forced the signage to be changed on Miami Chicken, this directive should be developed and all signage in town audited, most of it is badly design and cheaply presented. This sounds trivial, but this simple act would make the town look miles better.
I looked at the windows this morning whilst visiting Darwen's great market.. They look great. Apart from the ones with yellow posters. But the wooden ones next door over the cafe are a disgrace. If it wasn't for the tatty paintwork holding them together they would fall out. The only reason you can tell they are wood is the painting. If they were repainted white they would look no different to the disputed ones.
[quote][p][bold]darwen_celeb[/bold] wrote: The UPVC windows look horrendous and should be replaced. Whoever fitted them is a vandal. It's good to see the council taking some pride in how the town is presented and I hope this debacle doesn't hinder their motivation to improve the appearance of the CBD. Paul Browne should be entitled to vocalise his opinion whether he's for or against change, this action spotlights the subject. Penalising him is petty. What I'd like to see is the council start to limit the the number of types of shops in town, we already have enough (if not too many): Fried chicken takeaways, Hairdressers, Discount shops, Bookies and Charity shops. It was great when the council forced the signage to be changed on Miami Chicken, this directive should be developed and all signage in town audited, most of it is badly design and cheaply presented. This sounds trivial, but this simple act would make the town look miles better.[/p][/quote]I looked at the windows this morning whilst visiting Darwen's great market.. They look great. Apart from the ones with yellow posters. But the wooden ones next door over the cafe are a disgrace. If it wasn't for the tatty paintwork holding them together they would fall out. The only reason you can tell they are wood is the painting. If they were repainted white they would look no different to the disputed ones. A Darener

2:21pm Sat 1 Sep 12

louderfasterlonger says...

The row is not about the windows it is about breach of legislation and a councillor trying to impose his views by stoking up public opinion through the media when he should have been excercising due diligence. Cllr Browne may or may not be in a minority within the Planning Committee but he has done Mr Hutchinson no favours by getting thrown off it.
The LT Editor calling Blackburn a Stalinist State through its Opinion Column because of the Labour Party's compliance with Plannig legislation today is nothing short of disgraceful.
Good luck to Mr Hutchinson. I expect a deal will be thrashed that will not jave too much detriment to your business.
The row is not about the windows it is about breach of legislation and a councillor trying to impose his views by stoking up public opinion through the media when he should have been excercising due diligence. Cllr Browne may or may not be in a minority within the Planning Committee but he has done Mr Hutchinson no favours by getting thrown off it. The LT Editor calling Blackburn a Stalinist State through its Opinion Column because of the Labour Party's compliance with Plannig legislation today is nothing short of disgraceful. Good luck to Mr Hutchinson. I expect a deal will be thrashed that will not jave too much detriment to your business. louderfasterlonger

5:47pm Sat 1 Sep 12

Temporarily overseas says...

The PVC windows are now installed so keep them but please, please remove those awful brightly coloured 'Sale' and 'Bargain' signs in each window. And, while I'm on my soapbox, please have the cigarette kiosk (is it called Cheapasmokes) brighten up the exterior. It's awful. Maybe stone cladding would be better fitted over the brickwork and some new signs, in keeping with the regulations, to replace the existing tatty signs.
The PVC windows are now installed so keep them but please, please remove those awful brightly coloured 'Sale' and 'Bargain' signs in each window. And, while I'm on my soapbox, please have the cigarette kiosk (is it called Cheapasmokes) brighten up the exterior. It's awful. Maybe stone cladding would be better fitted over the brickwork and some new signs, in keeping with the regulations, to replace the existing tatty signs. Temporarily overseas

8:04pm Sat 1 Sep 12

english rose 1 says...

darwen_celeb wrote:
The UPVC windows look horrendous and should be replaced. Whoever fitted them is a vandal. It's good to see the council taking some pride in how the town is presented and I hope this debacle doesn't hinder their motivation to improve the appearance of the CBD. Paul Browne should be entitled to vocalise his opinion whether he's for or against change, this action spotlights the subject. Penalising him is petty.

What I'd like to see is the council start to limit the the number of types of shops in town, we already have enough (if not too many):

Fried chicken takeaways, Hairdressers, Discount shops, Bookies and Charity shops.

It was great when the council forced the signage to be changed on Miami Chicken, this directive should be developed and all signage in town audited, most of it is badly design and cheaply presented. This sounds trivial, but this simple act would make the town look miles better.
Ironically Coun Browne was all in favour of action in regard to the Miami Chicken sign. Plus he has always been in favour of other enforcement actions by the planning committee. He has also been very vocal against retrospective planning permission.
*
It is therefore difficult to know why he is against enforcement in this case ?
*
Imagine Coun Browne's furore if the front of Darwen Town Hall had been refurbished using white UPVC sheeting !
[quote][p][bold]darwen_celeb[/bold] wrote: The UPVC windows look horrendous and should be replaced. Whoever fitted them is a vandal. It's good to see the council taking some pride in how the town is presented and I hope this debacle doesn't hinder their motivation to improve the appearance of the CBD. Paul Browne should be entitled to vocalise his opinion whether he's for or against change, this action spotlights the subject. Penalising him is petty. What I'd like to see is the council start to limit the the number of types of shops in town, we already have enough (if not too many): Fried chicken takeaways, Hairdressers, Discount shops, Bookies and Charity shops. It was great when the council forced the signage to be changed on Miami Chicken, this directive should be developed and all signage in town audited, most of it is badly design and cheaply presented. This sounds trivial, but this simple act would make the town look miles better.[/p][/quote]Ironically Coun Browne was all in favour of action in regard to the Miami Chicken sign. Plus he has always been in favour of other enforcement actions by the planning committee. He has also been very vocal against retrospective planning permission. * It is therefore difficult to know why he is against enforcement in this case ? * Imagine Coun Browne's furore if the front of Darwen Town Hall had been refurbished using white UPVC sheeting ! english rose 1

12:56pm Sun 2 Sep 12

district01 says...

“Borough Labour leader Kate Hollern said she was referring Coun Browne to the authority’s legal director David Fairclough for breaking the rules governing confidential “Part Two” items on the committee agenda.”

Kate, how about dealing with more important matters such as the problems within Blackburn with Darwen council rather than spending your time and political muscle complaining on trivial matters such as this against your opposition. You have far too many important matters to put right rather than wasting your time with this!
“Borough Labour leader Kate Hollern said she was referring Coun Browne to the authority’s legal director David Fairclough for breaking the rules governing confidential “Part Two” items on the committee agenda.” Kate, how about dealing with more important matters such as the problems within Blackburn with Darwen council rather than spending your time and political muscle complaining on trivial matters such as this against your opposition. You have far too many important matters to put right rather than wasting your time with this! district01

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