Deputy CEO,Richard Cohen, sped through what he termed his “holding report” on Knowle relocation, in well under five minutes. “You’ll have to wait” he told EDDC Cabinet members,squarely putting the blame on the Knowle Residents’ Association (KRA) for obliging the Council to spend “some time and money” in fighting KRA’s Town and Village Green Application for Knowle. No mention was made of the EDDC’s appeal lodged with a tribunal, nor of their reasons for so doing. Any reference to precise figures and expenses were glaringly omitted.

Cabinet members, seemed entirely sympathetic, summed up by Cllr Ray Bloxham’s comment , that “It’s a shame that we’re in the situation that we have to delay”.
And Cllr Andrew Moulding’s summary that “It doesn’t matter where we are, provided that we have a facility for dialogue with “the people that we serve”, rang a little hollow. The original “more central location” argument has been dropped, and EDDC’s record on public relations continues to be notoriously weak.
Cllr Cox was perhaps not entirely correct when he said that the Cabinet had been unfairly accused of “going headlong into the unknown”. If he does indeed know the exact calculations of relocation, could he kindly lay the cards on the table?

Sadly, no natural light nor fresh air is allowed to refresh debates in the Council Chamber.The net curtains stay drawn, and forty-odd light bulbs blaze away,however sunny it is outside. Indoors, stuffiness rules.
This council thus demonstrates little awareness of its surroundings. Knowle parkland in the rain, with its copper beech and birdsong was a treat for the senses, for those who took this shortcut to town after the meeting last night. Councillors mostly have a different exit, via the tarmacked car park…naturally.