Labour call to halt 'illegal' land deal - News - Burton Mail

More revelations in the Burton Mail -

Tory candidate Andrew Grithis has laid in with what appears to be ungentlemanly comments about two councillors who have resigned the tory whip over the debacle

Labour call to halt 'illegal' land deal - News - Burton Mail

Meanwhile over in Burton...Council is criticised over wind farm cash - News - Uttoxeter Advertiser

Council is criticised over wind farm cash - News - Uttoxeter Advertiser: "Council is criticised over wind farm cash
by KEITH BULL
COUNCIL bosses have defended using thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money to employ outside consultants to evaluate a planning application for a wind farm in the ward represented by the authority's leader.

East Staffordshire Borough Council has already set aside £5,000 as a 'contingency' against plans to build a wind farm at Bagots Park, near Abbots Bromley."

LAND ROW ROCKS TORIES - News - Burton Mail

From the Burton Mail today

Are the Tories on a collision greater than that taking place at the Large Hadron Collider


LAND ROW ROCKS TORIES - News - Burton Mail: "BURTON Town Hall's ruling Conservative group was today embroiled in a 'possibly illegal' land sale row.

News - Uttoxeter town hall Controversy erupted after a Government watchdog completed a probe into the sale of publicly owned land in Uttoxeter town centre.

The Audit Commission declared that an 'unofficial agreement' between Uttoxeter Town Council and developer Taylor Wimpey 'could be illegal'."

Town in Crisis - Fall Outs - Financial Mismangement or Reckless Bravado!iasco

Just as the town faces mass unemployment with the two biggest employers JCB and Fox's threatening hundreds, possibly thousands of job losses, the Tories are playing a very strange game. They are falling out with each other in an increasingly messy spat over incompetence, recklessness and financial mismangement.Never a happy bunch, it's getting increasingly dirty. The Burton Mail yesterday reports that Kathy Graham - former Mayor and Town Ward Councillor  has quit the ruling Tory group and will now represent as an independent. She has quit over the actions of Geoff Morrison, Howard Grigg, David Brookes and Malcolm Barrett. Councillor Graham says that this 'Gang of Four' had behaved 'disgracefully' "by failing to keep others informed of alternatives to a proposed £115,000 deal with a developer." The Gang have been accused of being less than open over the sale of the Town Hall.

The Town Hall is subject to an 'unofficial agreement' of sale to Taylor Wimpey.
But critiscisms have been levelled that the sale is grossly underpriced and that all is not what it seems with the sale. 

 

Councillor Graham feels she has been bullied and cajoled to support the Taylor Wimpey deal. Her colleagues have resorted to less than gentlemanly comments. 

As Ali Choudry writes in his blog the council appear to be either reckless or incompetent "This is a serious and systematic case of financial mismanagement." he writes

"A quarter of the town councillors - councillors Barrett, Geoff Morrison and David Brookes - are also borough councillors holding important portfolios, as they are part of the Tory controlling group. We are nervous, suspicious and uneasy that the Tories' shambolic and inept financial management at Uttoxeter Town Council might lead to a similar financial calamity at the borough council.

What is going on?