Cornwall Council, Planning and Adverts

The Cornish Guardian’s Richard Whitehouse informs me that Cornwall Council have started posting advertisements on the Council website. On the face of it this seems like a creative way to raise a few extra quid in these tough financial times but clicking on the planning pages perhaps raises the odd ethical question.

When I had a look earlier I noticed a banner advert at the top of the Planning page for Sainsbury’s supermarket. Considering this particular operator had a more than slightly contentious application turned down for an out of town supermarket in Egloshayle Parish (and have recently submitted revised plans) one would hope that Cornwall Council would at least want to preserve the appearance of objectivity with regard to this area. Factor in the rumoured £10m the Council stands to receive if Sainsbury’s newest application is successful and the whole thing looks a little worse.

I wouldn’t suggest for a minute that such things might influence planning considerations – I’ve seen the Strategic Planning Committee at work and I have no doubts as to the fairness of its decision-making – but someone at Cornwall Council should surely be aware that, not only do things need to be fair, they must be seen to be fair too.

I’ve no idea what the decision-making process was that led to the selling of advertising on the Council website, but I suspect it would have been signed off by a Member of the Cabinet. In which case, whoever they are, they should probably have a think about who they sell advertising to and – crucially – where they place it.