Legal advice provided to Burnt Oak Ward Councillors about sharing their views on the Watling Car Park redevelopment proposals
Received: 19 April 2025
Dear Barnet Council Monitoring Officer,It has come to our attention that our Ward Councillors have been advised that they cannot share their views on the Watling Car Park re-development proposals with residents. This was communicated to us at Burnt Oak Partnership Board (March 2025).Under the Freedom of Information Act please could you:1) Confirm whether you, or other legal advisers acting on behalf of Barnet Council, have provided the present administration or Councillors more generally, with legal advice which advised them that they could not &/or should share their position about the Watling Car Park re-development planning application (whether it be Object, Support or Neutral).2a) Indicate, if the answer to question 1 is 'No', whether a Councillor's decision to not comment on a planning application, even where that decision is based on legal advice, contradicts any of the following:i) Barnet Council's Constitution;ii) Barnet Council's Corporate Plan;iii) Local Government Association Guidance;iv) Nolan Principles; orv) Any other Law, Regulation or guidance you believe to be relevant in the circumstances described.2b) Indicate, if the answer to question 1 is 'Yes':i) When the advice was given;ii) Who provided the advice (plus their role and the name of their organisation);iii) Who the advice applies to (e.g. all Barnet councillors, Cabinet members, only Labour Councillors, only Councillors who sit on a Planning Committee etc);iv) The specific date from which the advice was meant to be followed;v) When the advice need no longer be followed (e.g. this may be a specific date or a 'conceptual' trigger event);vi) The source of law which forms the basis of the advice (e.g. Public & Administrative Law, Tort Law, Contract Law etc).3) Indicate if similar advice (as described in Question 1), has been given to Councillors from the current administration about any other planning application (or proposal) in Barnet, and if so, please also state the name of the proposal/planning reference number in question.
Outcome / Documents
- Response (all information to be supplied) - application/pdf - Download