Councillor Says He Is Cleared Of "False Allegation Of Bias" Over West Acre Park Development

A former vice-chair of the Isle of Wight Council’s planning committee says he is “delighted” to be cleared of an “entirely false allegation of bias” over the West Acre Park development.

Following the Court of Appeal’s judgement that County Hall’s permission for 473 houses at Westridge Farm in Ryde is ‘unlawful’, Councillor Geoff Brodie pointed to similarities between the latest ruling and Judge Jarman’s decision last August.

Elmfield group Greenfields (IOW) Ltd appealed Judge Jarman’s dismissal of its judicial review case against the Isle of Wight Council in an Administrative Court ruling made in August last year.

Lord Justices Singh and Lewis said the council’s approval of the development was unlawful on ground one of Greenfield’s appeal case – the authority failed to publish a section 106 planning obligation prior to its permission.

Their judgement did not however allow the other grounds of the appeal including the third, that Judge Jarman was ‘wrong to hold that the conduct of Councillor Brodie did not give rise to the appearance of bias’.

Reacting, Cllr Brodie said:

“Personally, I am delighted that once again the judges have dismissed the other three grounds of the appeal and have cleared me of the entirely false allegation of bias on this planning application (ground three).

“Also, that the allegation that my ruling from the planning committee chair that Cllr (Matthew) Price could not take part at the original committee meeting (in accordance with the council’s code of practice) was a procedural error, was in fact academic for this appeal (ground four).

“These two rulings are the same as were adjudged by the High Court judge last August.”

Cllr Brodie voted in favour of the development at each of the three times it came before the planning committee and was approved.

The representative for Pan and Barton served as the panel’s vice-chair between 2021 and 2022 and chaired the original July 27, 2021 meeting on the application in place of the then chair, Councillor Michael Lilley.

Cllr Lilley did not chair the July 2021 meeting due to the proposed development being in his ward.

Cllr Brodie added:

“Although the Appeal Court judges allowed this appeal on just ground one (failure to publish the Section 106 agreement before issuing the formal planning approval), they also ruled that the planning committee lawfully resolved to grant planning permission for West Acre Park.

“They have yet to decide whether to quash the formal planning approval of August 4, 2023 as a result of the appeal, so no one should jump to conclusions just yet.”