Residents frustrated that discussion on 'Property Lettings at Hollingworth Lake' heard in private at Township Meeting

Councillor Aftab Hussain

Those in attendance at last night's (Tuesday 9 September) Pennine Township Meeting were frustrated that an agenda item entitled ‘Property Lettings at Hollingworth Lake’ was to be heard without the press or public in attendance.

Residents objected to the exclusion of the press and public, as they believed that the public had a right to speak on the item.

Barry Cropper, a regular attendee at Pennine Township meetings, said to councillors: “You do not have to exclude the press and the public if the interest of the public outweighs that of those deciding on the exclusion.”

The issue of excluding people from the meeting was addressed before councillors reached the item on the agenda. Members of the public asked councillors to consider letting the public stay for the item.

Chairman of Pennine Township, Councillor Aftab Hussain said: “We have taken advice and because this document is not yet in the public domain, it has to be heard in private. There could be questions posed that would give information to the public which they should not yet have.”

The debate then spilled over as the councillors came to the agenda item.

Mr Cropper asked the chairman of the committee when the decision to exclude the press and the public was made because nothing had been discussed in the meeting.

Councillor Hussain added: “A decision was made before the meeting.”

Councillor Hussain then asked councillors on the committee if they wanted to exclude the press and the public and they agreed to exclude those in attendance.

It is currently unclear exactly what the item agenda was about.