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downsmail.co.uk Council ‘risks all’ in court bale


MAIDSTONE Borough Council (MBC) is set to challenge the judgement by the High Court over its failed application for a judicial reviewinto road levies. We understand that MBC will


pursue an application for “oral re- consideration” on advice from its barrister. The council leadership has agreed


to go ahead with the new strategy with the viewto achieving clarity on whether the action could get through aHigh Court hearing. A judge rejected an application


for a judicial review into how Kent County Council, the road building authority, uses cash fromdeveloper contributions (S106money). KCC wants to use £200,000 from


three developments on the A274 Sutton Road to carry out surveys into the viability of a Leeds-Langley relief road. Mrs Justice Lang orderedMBC to


pay £9,000 costs to KCC unless ei- ther side mounted a challenge. So far, according to MBC, the current cost of the legal action by theLiberal Democrat-led borough council against Tory-run KCC is £14,500. Mrs Justice Lang’s summary


stated: “In my view, the claimant (MBC) has not presented arguable grounds that


the defendant's


(KCC’s) decision was unlawful. Whilst the defendant's approach is controversial, it cannot be charac- terised as irrational, nor can it plau- sibly be contended that


the


defendant failed to take material considerations into account. I amnot persuaded that there was a duty to give reasons for the decision, but in any event, the reasons for the defen- dant's position arewell known. The defendant's claim for costs in the sumof £18,377.28was unreasonable and disproportionate. I have sum- marily assessed it at £9,000.” Independent Maidstone borough


councillor Eddie Powell (above, right) said: "Herewe have twopolit- ical parties fighting amongst them- selveswith the tax-payerpickingup the tab. “The price tag is now fourteeen


grandandrising by theday. Still, it's onlymoney - ourmoney."


Warning onmental health care to stay


A WARNING notice issued to Maidstone’s Community Mental Health Team (MCMHT), demand- ing that it looks at theway it handles adult caseloads,will remaininplace. The Care Quality Commission


(CQC) returned to check on progress after issuing the notice in February, but has said itwill not be lifted and the team must act on its recommendations for improve- ments byAugust 16. Inspectors said systems put in


place to ensure that caseloads were formally handed over and moni- tored needed to be followed by all teams, andassessments of the risk to patients’ health and safety must be completed and reviewed regularly for every individual and updated in light of an incident. TheCQCreport saidtheMCMHT


had made improvements in moni- toring the needs ofpatients awaiting allocation of a care co-ordinator, but


8


a consistent approach was needed across all teams. A spokesman for MCMHT said:


“The trust fully accepted the CQC’s Warning Notice and required ac- tions issuedin February this year, in relation to our Community Mental Health Teams for adults. “Our focus on patient safety un-


derpins our improvement plans for the teams and we aremaking good progress. “Our focus now is on ensuring


that improvements areproperly em- bedded in all teams and that our quality of care is consistently high.” She continued: “The CQC con-


firmed that progress had been made, but agreed with our assess- ment that there ismore to do. “We are confident that our pro-


gramme of improvement will de- liver and sustain the required improvements leading to the notice being lifted later this summer.”


Maidstone East September 2018 He warned of wider implications


if MBC chooses to pursue a High Court action and is defeated again, as itmightproduce a test casewhere local authority planning committees lose the ability to attach conditions to developments. Cllr Powell added: “I hope I’mwrong, but there could bewider, riskier implications for a case like this. These are dan- gerous games to be playing. It could set a precedent across the whole country.” The authority held a high level


meeting on July 23 to discuss legal options going forward and atwhich the decision wasmade to challenge the rejection of the judicial review application.


County councillor and relief road


campaigner Gary Cooke (pictured, left) said: “Tax-payers will be screaming from the hilltops. MBC just seems to want to throw good money after bad. This ismadness.” MBC says the hearing will take


place in the autumn. A statement said: “The judicial review, brought againstKentCountyCouncil (KCC), was instigatedbyMBCinMay, after all attempts to settle a matter over the use of specific S106 money ob- tained as part of the statutory plan- ning process proved unsuccessful. “Todate, the known cost of the ju-


dicial review for MBC stands at £5,500; with a further £9,000 awardedtoKCCin costs, shouldthe action prove unsuccessful.” Leader of Maidstone Borough


Council, CllrMartin Cox, said: “We have faced some criticism over the action we have taken. However, I feel it is important to establishclarity on this issue, since it has implica- tions for the discharge of the coun- cil’s statutory planning functions. “However,we acknowledgewhat


the judge,Mrs JusticeLang,has said. “We hope to be able to resolve this


matter as quickly as possible and continue to work collaboratively with KCC for the benefit of all resi- dents across the borough.”


Probation chief appointed


MAIDSTONE’S probation service has appointed a chief probation officer. Manjinder Purewalwill oversee the day-to-day running of the Kent, Surrey


and SussexCommunity RehabilitationCompany (KSSCRC),which operates out ofGalleonHouse inKingStreet. The appointment comes as part


of an investment and training drive to turn the region’s low and medium risk offenders away from crime for good, says KSS CRC. Manjinder will


change toincreasedata-ledandev- idence-based best practice. She qualified as a probation offi-


cer in 1996, holding various opera- tional and training roles before becomingchief executiveofficer for Warwickshire and West Mercia community rehabilitation com- pany. She takes up her post onNo- vember 1. KSS CRC chief executive officer,


Suki Binning, said: “Manjinder has an excellent track record and I am thrilled that she has chosen to re- turn towork in probation in our region.” KSS CRC took responsibility for supervising prison inmates and those on community orders in 2015, as part of theGovernment’s probation reforms.


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