Inquiry into Newcastle councillor
Dec 19 2008 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal
A SENIOR Newcastle Liberal Democrat is at centre of an investigation after documents emerged which appear to show the company he works for profiling likely voting patterns of the council’s planning committee.
Greg Stone, a former executive member for development and regeneration, works as a consultant for Indigo Public Affairs, which represented clients seeking to build student housing in the Shieldfield area of the city.
When he took the position, he stepped down from his regeneration role and was warned by Lib-Dem bosses he must have nothing to do with Newcastle planning applications to avoid any conflict of interest. But in documents seen by The Journal, Indigo has compiled detailed profiles of all 16 planning committee members, including their likely voting intention.
Councillors are forbidden from revealing their voting intention before any quasi-judicial planning meeting. While there is no suggestion that any member has revealed their decision, the committee assessment boldly states which councillors will vote for and against.
Last night Indigo managing director Richard Patient said Coun Stone “had no active involvement” in the application and “had no contact” with committee members on the issue.
As well as voting patterns before the decision to approve the student housing last September, the document also includes profiles of all members. Coun Stone’s fellow Liberal Democrat Gerry Keating is described as “cerebral, iconoclastic and invariably dishevelled” and believing “that unless he knows differently, his job is to uphold the officer recommendation. Will therefore support”.
Committee chair Bob Renton is described to potential developers as “steady and reliable, if unspectacular”.
Coun Veronica Dunn is accused of voting based on her friendship with the Labour group leader while Lib-Dem Marc Donnelly is dismissed as “meek and mild”. Doreen James also comes in for criticism, with the Labour councillor summed up as “grandmotherly” and “quiet and unremarkable”.
Opposition leader Nick Forbes is described as “intelligent and ambitious, yet also has a reputation for being unprincipled and opportunistic”.
Last night Coun Forbes said: “In addition to the investigation into this matter, there must be an urgent review by the council into any planning applications involving Indigo Public Affairs.
“I am very concerned that officers may have discussed applications with Greg Stone without knowing they are actually speaking to someone working for the applicant.”
Next to many member profiles are handwritten notes on likely voting.
Coun Stone is also Liberal Democrat prospective Parliamentary candidate for Newcastle East.
It is understood the council’s acting chief executive Barry Rowland was made aware of the documents on Tuesday night, when they were shown to him and a council legal officer. Last night a Newcastle Council spokesman said: “This document has been brought to our attention and our acting chief executive has asked the council’s monitoring officer to look into this matter. At this stage, we are unable to comment further.”
Mr Patient last night issued a statement on behalf of Indigo and Coun Stone. He said: “Greg Stone had no active involvement in the Winn Products site project and was not one of the project handlers. He was, therefore, not present at the planning application meeting and had no contact with Newcastle city councillors on this issue.
“We have a strict code of conduct and internal procedures within Indigo Public Affairs that should ensure that any perceived conflicts of interests are managed effectively.
“We have no reason to believe Greg has breached our own internal code of conduct or the national ‘Model Code of Conduct for Local Authority Members’.”
Coun Stone did not return The Journal’s calls last night.
