Leave it to the experts

Published: 4 June 2010

• FORMER Green Party candidate Emma Dixon has described Islington Council’s new planning committee as “Stalinist” (Planning shake-up labelled Stalinist, May 28).

That is a ridiculous comparison.

Stalin launched the great terror, imprisoned opponents in gulags and systematically killed millions of people.

Back in the real world, Islington Labour has made a minor constitutional change to create a borough-wide planning committee in order to get more consistent decision-making.

Our new system is not that unusual – we have created a structure which is just like every other London borough.

The Green Party has even claimed this unpicks “25 years of local democracy”. Wrong again. The old system of four planning committees was introduced just eight years ago by the Lib Dems.

And until Labour seized control of three of these committees, they just nodded through scores of controversial planning applications, mainly because the Lib Dems on these local committees were quite clueless about their role.

In its place, we have appointed an expert committee, which will have new powers to prevent exactly the kind of excessive development the Greens are probably most bothered about.
CLLR PAUL CONVERY
Labour executive councillor for regeneration, planning and leisure