A council leader has been accused of ‘not caring’ about his constituents.
During the public speaking session at the Cheshire West and Chester Council’s (CWaC) executive meeting on Tuesday night, Cllr Mike Jones was slammed by residents angry at the go-ahead for a new homeless hub at Richmond Court, in Boughton.
Addressing the executive, resident Karen Stevenson, a campaigner for the Residents for Democracy group which had opposed CWaC’s plans to move homeless services from the Chester city centre to Boughton, accused the council not listening to the opinions of the residents.
After being called-in to the health and wellbeing scrutiny committee last week by Labour councillors after it had received the green light at an executive meeting on February 5, the Richmond Court plans were not challenged by scrutiny panel members and the plans were put foward to the executive without recommendation.
Miss Stevenson said: “It is with great regret that I have to make this speech. This whole process has only served to show how little you as a council care about what we say and how we feel.
“I don’t know why you bothered to become councillors in the first place.
“We live in a beautiful part of the world but unfortunately we now have to live with your poor decision.”
Campaigners against the proposals forced the council into carrying out a 12 week consultation which ended in January, which showed 85 per cent of people against the plans, with a 1,300 signature petition against them submitted to council leaders.
The group has vowed to fight on despite the decision and has suggested it may even seek a judicial review.
Referring to reports Cllr Jones had called two constituents ‘d***kheads’ at a public meeting he was attending as a member of the public, Miss Stevenson said: “This is
a council driven by someone’s own
personal agenda. Cllr Jones, you care so little about your constituents you call them ‘d***heads’.
“If the way you lot conducted yourselves didn’t have such implications for residents it would be amusing.
“We are not going away. We will remain a pain in your side and you should continue to ignore us at your peril.”