Questions that need to be answered surrounding the Secretary of States illegal decision surrounding the Westferry Printworks.
Labour has set out the questions Robert Jenrick must answer about his unlawful planning decision that helped wealthy Tory donor Richard Desmond save tens of millions of pounds in taxes that would have funded community development projects.
With fresh revelations reported today, Labour is taking the unusual step of publishing the questions it will ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government in the House of Commons on Thursday.
Steve Reed MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, will pose the following questions to Mr Jenrick:
Will Mr Jenrick publish all documents and correspondence relating to this decision so the public can see why he took it despite the objections of the local council and the independent planning inspector appointed by his own Department?
Did Mr Jenrick disclose his conversation with Richard Desmond to the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government ahead of his 14th January decision to grant planning permission, and if not does this represent a breach of the Ministerial Code.
Why did Mr Jenrick then not recuse himself from decision making in this case given his relationship with the developer?
What contact did Mr Jenrick, or officials in his department, have with the developer or their representatives regarding the application and, specifically, regarding the £30-50 million the developer would have been liable for after 14 January if he hadn’t intervened?
Steve Reed MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, said:
“Communities must have confidence that the planning process is fair and transparent, but the unanswered questions around Robert Jenrick’s unlawful decision have weakened that trust.
“It is unprecedented for a Secretary of State to admit to bias – and there are fears he did it to avoid being forced to reveal the truth behind his decision in open court.
“It’s time for Mr Jenrick to come clean and answer these crucial questions about why he over-ruled his own inspector to grant planning permission for a billionaire Conservative Party donor to build a luxury development and dodge a £50m tax bill shortly after they dined together at a glitzy fundraising dinner – Mr Jenrick must prove it’s not one rule for the Conservatives and their wealthy donors but another rule for everyone else.”
Further Reading:
The Times reported on the 27th May 2020[1] that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick had accepted that he had shown ‘apparent bias’ when he approved a 1,524 home development on the site of Westferry Printworks in Tower Hamlets. His decision was made as a part of his quasi-judicial role in the planning system. This decision was made despite the development being opposed by local residents, the local authority of Tower Hamlets, and against the advice of the government planning inspector in their report to the SoS. Source:
On 30 May, the Daily Mail reported that Robert Jenrick was lobbied by the developer at a Tory fundraising dinner just weeks before approving the luxury housing project. Source:
The Sunday Times reported on 7 June that Mr Jenrick and Boris Johnson’s senior aide Dominic Cummings are backing a fast-track system for developers and support a move to a zonal planning system where key decisions will be taken from local councils and handed to development corporations. Source:
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/336af6ac-a816-11ea-9e13-56000baa8f00
On 9 June 2020, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, announced that he was calling for a ‘“rethink” of the “overly bureaucratic” planning process’, just weeks after the Westferry affair was reported. Source:
Billionaire property developer Richard Desmond gave Tories £12k two weeks after his plans got the go-ahead from Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick Source:
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