Posted on Tuesday, 26th July 2016 | 2 Comments The Parish Council via one of its Councillors has directly addressed several residents who posted comments on this site stating “Hi concerned residents. It’s a shame you don’t give your name”. Unsettling implications could be drawn from this comment and the right of reply now presented to the public by the Parish Council is appreciated. Why do many residents withhold names? The fact that someone eventually made a grievance complaint that led to an investigation and the “confidential report”, came as no surprise to many people who have much they could say about their own personal experiences and observations. The person who made the grievance complaint and witnesses, have clearly kept a dignified silence in spite of being subjected to a distressing but sadly typical response pattern that includes denial, redirecting the blame, claiming to be the victim, claiming a conspiracy and attacking reputations. This ‘defence’ has been widely circulated in the public domain, but over two months after the report was made, not a scrap of evidence has been produced by the Parish Council to support it. The editor of this site has told us he has been warned about what he publishes otherwise there will be “consequences”. The Parish Council are now posting comments back to residents that appear intimidating. We are all now witnessing before us what happens to those who have pursued transparency, honesty and accountability. Until the public no longer feels threatened or bullied, many “concerned residents” will continue to withhold their names. As Churchill said: “The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.” Posted on behalf of a concerned resident
I also attended last night’s meeting. One thing that struck me, aside from the obvious, was that the Parish Council appears to have split into at least two factions with the Chairman circulating and agreeing a potential press release criticising the content, authors and methodology of the “confidential report” with only some of the council members. At least 3 if not 4 councillors complained that the first sight they had of that press release was when it was placed in front of them at the meeting. It was then sought to pass the release without discussion. One has to wonder why such a press release was drafted in the first place and why it was only circulated to and reviewed by certain councillors. Reply
As someone who also attended last night’s meeting and feels outraged by the behaviour displayed by the ‘majority’ of Melbourn Parish Councillors, I ask the community to come together and register their ongoing concerns by making a formal complaint to the Monitoring Officer for South Cambridgeshire. Further information can be found here: https://www.scambs.gov.uk/content/complaints I am also aware that the open letter written by Ian Dewar from CAPALC details what would appear to be criminal offences committed by some members of Melbourn Parish Council – I believe this document will be available once the minutes are published. Again I ask people to do what they can to bring information regarding the non-disclosure of pecuniary interests to the notice of the relevant bodies including the Police. I will certainly be doing all I can to ensure justice prevails. Reply