East Herts Council Tories accuse Greens and Lib Dems of ‘plain awful’ behaviour over Water Lane United Reformed Church Hall
Conservatives on East Herts Council (EHC) used Freedom of Information (FoI) requests to expose Green and Liberal Democrat deliberations about a controversial report into the state of the Water Lane United Reformed Church Hall in Bishop’s Stortford.
The district authority commissioned AECOM to undertake a £50,000 survey and report its findings at the end of April. EHC had hoped the bill would be closer to £25,000, but has been warned that further investigation in Water Lane could cost another £100,000.
The Tories say the Green and Lib Dem administration “actively considered delaying the final URC report if it contained bad news, while pushing for its release before the May local elections if it was positive”.
The 200-page report was made public on May 19. On May 1, there were full Hertfordshire County Council elections and a by-election for a Braughing and Standon seat on EHC.
Emails show that the executive member for wellbeing, Cllr Sarah Hopewell (Green, Hertford Castle), asked officers: “Hypothetically, if the survey contained brilliant news that we’d want to celebrate, would PEPOS (Pre-election Period of Sensitivity) prevent this from being published?”
The authority’s head of legal and democratic services advised that the report, good or bad, should be published after the elections.
Cllr John Wyllie (Con, Bishop’s Stortford Thorley Manor) said: “This was a disgraceful ploy by the Green/Lib Dem coalition to bury bad news and exploit good news for their own political survival.
“Residents deserve transparency, not underhanded election tactics. It’s clear they were more concerned with saving their own seats than being honest with the public.”
The FoI request also revealed that after the report established it would cost £1.6 million to restore the URC Hall, Cllr Miriam Swainston (Lib Dem, Bishop’s Stortford North) wanted further public consultation.
“I just think a public meeting to see if there is enough public support for others taking it on and trying to raise funds would be a fair thing to do,” she said. “I know we can’t, but I think some need a reality check!”
The council’s leader, Cllr Ben Crystall (Green, Hertford Bengeo), responded: “We simply can’t afford £1.6 million, so, to be honest, I’m not sure what value a further public consultation would provide. We saved the hall from demolition to see if anyone else can take it on. But we need to be clear: we can’t hang on to it and keep it open.”
The Conservative previous administration, ousted in May 2023, bought the hall to demolish it as part of the Old River Lane development plan.
The Green and Lib Dem coalition subsequently redrew the site boundary to save the building, which has been leased back to the United Reformed Church. That deal ends this year.
The Conservatives say it is shocking that the emails indicate the Green/Lib Dem coalition knew the URC Hall was “unsafe”, with a leaking roof and flooded toilet, but have allowed its continued use.
In September last year, Cllr Swainston wrote: “I’m currently very concerned that our actions in regards to this building and its lease are not really ethical, whether or not they are legal… The building seems not really fit for purpose, and yet we keep allowing it to be hired out… I believe this needs urgent attention.”
Tory group leader Cllr Bob Deering (Con, Hertford Rural) said: “This Freedom of Information request has lifted the lid on how the Lib Dem/Green coalition that runs East Herts Council really operates.
“They claim to be a listening and transparent council, but we can see from the emails they are anything but.
“Ahead of the elections in 2023, they promised they would save the URC Hall, but they must have known this was wholly unrealistic.
“The coalition has since spent thousands of taxpayers’ pounds trying to keep the hall going when they must have known this was just throwing good money after bad.
“We now see that Lib Dem Cllr Miriam Swainston has been questioning the ethics and legality of her own council continuing to rent out the hall because it’s in such bad condition. All behind closed doors. Despite the obvious health concerns, no transparency.
“This pattern of behaviour is just plain awful. The coalition has made bad decisions, which have cost taxpayers a lot of money, for its own political ends. Even when there are health concerns and their own councillors are questioning the ethical and legal position, no transparency.
“We Conservatives had a solid plan for the regeneration of the Old River Lane area, but the Lib Dem/Green coalition has allowed this to wither on the vine and instead poured taxpayers’ money down the drain. This is plainly unacceptable. Bishop’s Stortford deserves a lot better than this.”
The council has admitted it cannot afford the £1.6m bill to upgrade the hall and has budgeted just £170,000 for maintenance.
