Comment: Opacity and Trust

From the moment Chilbolton Parish Council’s plans leaked they have been on the back foot.

Plans prepared over two years, for a 168-home development in the village, were revealed one week before a big Village meeting meant to draw everyone into engaging with them.

The effect was devastating - where the presentation slides focussed on the first batch of 25 homes, the room wanted to know about the scope of the whole project. What was being hidden?

The Strategic Working Group, who according to the Chair of the Parish Council had done “thousands of hours of work” came under scrutiny. Who were they? What had they discussed? Requests to reveal the minutes of their meetings were brushed away because they contained “sensitive information”.

At every Parish meeting since then the message from Villagers has been “we want more transparency”. Finally, after ten weeks of being badgered, the Parish Council have released the SWG minutes. Notably agendas and papers circulated at the meetings remain hidden. Much has happened outside the meetings themselves, and little of that is visible.

This failure of candour has now been compounded by how the pre-application for the development has been passed to Test Valley Planning Department. Incredibly, we are told that an application by our own Parish Council is “confidential”.

The irony of this is that a pre-application is specifically aimed at providing the Test Valley Planners the opportunity to ask questions, suggest changes and make comments. It’s a pity that the people of Chilbolton have not been accorded that opportunity.

Opacity like this is the enemy of trust, and once lost, trust is the devil’s own job to regain.