Madam, Now that Herefordshire Council has been found guilty of maladministration of the planning for polytunnels at Kings Caple, which will cost Herefordshire Taxpayers around £100,000, can we expect apologies for the arrogance of the committee involved? The consent was steamrollered through despite the advice of officers and a conveniently 'Lost' petition, signed by a large majority of villagers who are horrified by these monstrosities.

I would also recommend that the Planning Comitee are obliged to apologise for the crass comments of those who did not agree with their railroaded decision. Perhaps we can look forward to them taking their own advice, and they and their businesses leave for an area which does not have the same pride in their surroundings as we do.

The overturning of this consent is a victory for the residents but its cost should be borne by those who were determined to walk over the commonsense shown by Herefordshire Planning Officers and the villagers of Kings Caple who were put in the position of having to raise money, thankfully not needed, to enable the appeal to go forward.

W B Stevens, Kings Caple

MADAM, I was very interested in the sentiment expressed by Carlos Felices (Ross Gazette 31/10/2012) that when councillors go against the recommendations given by their own experts and the decision is subsequently overturned that any costs incurred should be the personal responsibility of those councillors rather than the tax payers. 

If you relate this to the circumstances behind the Polytunnel Judicial Review brought by the Kings Caple community against Hereford Council (Ross Gazette 24/10/2012) the Councillors not only went against the recommendation of the Planning Officer, but also against all National and Local policies with regard to Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs). 

The decision was overturned because the Councillors gave no good reason for granting the permission; their discussion included personal statements. 

I sincerely hope that when the current Planning Committee meets again that the huge costs incurred by tax payers following the Committee's previous decision will weigh heavily on their minds and they will stick to relevant considerations. 

I hope they will all have read the National Planning Policy Framework which reinforces and strengthens the protection given to AONBs and also gives a strong voice to local communities about what happens to their surroundings. The majority of the community of Kings Caple has certainly made its opinion loud and clear!

David Williams, Kings Caple

Madam, We won the Judicial Review but really did not as the plans are being appraised. Why? If we lose we cannot appeal but Mr Cockburn can keep on appealing as he has done for years.

This seems very unfair to put it bluntly: one law for him but a different one for the villagers. I sincerely hope that the results of the Judicial Review stands.

Mrs Susan Wood, Kings Caple.

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