Scrutiny committee asks cabinet to reconsider land sales amid concerns of possible breach of constitutional rules
Derby City Council's executive scrutiny board has resolved to uphold a call-in notice of a decision to sell two parcels of land and refer the issue back to the authority’s Cabinet for reconsideration.
The decision came amid claims the council's approach breached proportionality and the presumption in favour of openness.
Derby's cabinet approved the sale of the land in February after developers building homes on adjacent sites said they needed the additional land for access.
The decision was then called in by Scrutiny Committee members, who argued that councillors and residents were not properly consulted, parts of the decision understated the land's properties, and the cabinet failed to properly consider the loss of public open space.
At its meeting in February, the Cabinet explained that they backed the sale of the land because it would generate "significant" capital receipts and facilitate the development of land for housing.
The report considered by the Cabinet said that without access to the adjacent sites, the developers could not proceed with their projects, which involve constructing hundreds of new residential units.
The report also noted that the sales for both pieces of land were expected to be in significant excess of £250,000.
Councillors on the scrutiny board meanwhile claimed the decision breached the principle of proportionality because of the "balance with buyer & Council v public (loss of public open space)", and the "description of ransom land understates its properties (not just 'grass verge')".
The document also argued the decision breached the principle of “due consultation” and “taking of professional advice from officers” because councillors were not consulted, and local residents were not consulted.
It also claimed the relevant council departments, including the highways department, were not consulted.
The report argued that the principle of a presumption in favour of openness was breached because there was an alleged "lack of transparency in decision making", timescales "were not proportionate", and there was a failure to approve an 'Executive Scrutiny recommendation' which was supported by councillors and local residents.
The board unanimously agreed that there was a breach in the constitutional rules over the fact consultation with councillors was not carried out properly prior to the cabinet decision, according to a report from Derbyshire Live.
Derby City Council confirmed that the board resolved to uphold the call-in and to refer the issue back to the council's cabinet for reconsideration.
Adam Carey
