Monday 30 November 2009

THE SHAME CONTINUES

Councillor Chris Hughes once branded me short sighted over my proposals to regenerate the Town centre and claimed that the Council had “An exciting development planned for the old indoor market” when questioned about it he told us he would not tell us because it was “Commercially sensitive”. It was his smug, superior attitude in the way he delivered that comment that made me want to find out more, so, basically, I have him to thank for leading me on to the road of discovery over Council misdemeanours. The latest post on him brought a good response, a lot of which even I didn’t dare publish! It also brought to me a copy of a letter sent to him by Pat Jackson, Secretary of Friends of the Pier Society (copy below). In it she asks Councillor Hughes to confirm his position in regards to his Chairmanship of the Society, note the date, 7th October, she has still not received a reply.
The Pier is in dispute with the Council; Chris Hughes is a prominent member of that Council and yet still refuses to resign as Chairman of the Friends Society. If Chris Hughes himself cannot see the CONFLICT OF INTEREST is there anyone else on the Council who can? Surely if the Council wish to retain any credibility at all over the sorrowful issue of the Pier then someone on it must pull Councillor Hughes to one side and say “Okay Chris, you’ve damaged them enough, people are now starting to notice we are playing dirty, time to call it a day”
The more I look at this case the more I believe Steve Hunt’s claims that he was “fit-up” and the more the Council allow Councillor Hughes to “blunder” around the more people that will agree with me, it is no longer disgraceful; it is shamefully disgraceful.


Cllr Chris Hughes
Conwy County Borough Council
Bodlondeb
CONWAY
LL32 8DU 7th October 2009

Dear Councillor Hughes

Re Friends of Victoria Pier, Colwyn Bay

I refer to your e-mail of the 7th May 2009 when you stated, as Chairman of the Friends of the Pier, that you would arrange something i.e an AGM of the Friends within the next two weeks. There has not been an AGM for the past three years.

Previous to that when a meeting of the Friends was called by others you attended and branded the meeting as unconstitutional and refused to stand down as Chairman. You then informed me that it was the Chairman’s duty to call AGMs.

The point of this letter is that it appears from your Register of Members Interests at the Council, that you do not list any interest in ‘Friends of the Pier’. I do not appear to have had any official resignation letter from you.

Please, therefore, would you please explain by return of post your position with regard to the ‘Friends of the Pier.’

Yours sincerely


Pat Jackson
Secretary and Treasurer
Friends of the Pier.

14 comments:

Dick Turpin said...

How this man can have the gall to call himself Chairman of the Friends of the Pier Group when he has done NOTHING for the past three years is beyond me!! Even worse, he is actively trying to prevent anyone else from doing anything to save the pier by refusing to resign as Chairman! It really does stink - what would his motive be for seeing the pier decay?

I hope that the voters of Colwyn Bay will bear this in mind when election time comes around next.

Parky said...

It is amazing what we find out by reading blogs.
I really did not know he was so underhand.
He has lost my vote.

Anonymous said...

Why oh why are the Council letting him continue with this charade. He should be sacked and the council thoroughly ashamed of themselves.

J C Reynolds said...

Chris Hughes reminds me of a Brussels Sprout with glasses. Seriosuly though, it looks to me as though he has sold out the people of Colwyn Bay for a few pieces of County Council silver. What a shame...for Colwyn Bay.

John Oddy said...

May I remind posters to keep the language clean.

I cannot publish unsubstantiated claims, if you have proof of what you say then fine but I cannot just publish something because it is what "you have heard".

Glyndwr said...

Mae'r chris hughes dim gwerth rhech dafad

John Oddy said...

This link as been pointed out to me,anybody wishing to sign it may do.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/colwynpier/

On The QT said...

If Cllr Hughes says that the groups meeting was unconstitutional than that would imply that a Constitution exists for the Group.
Most Constitutions have a clause to state that a Extraordinary General Meeting can be called if you get a certain percentage of the members agreement.Election of officers can be dow at such a meeting.
As the secretary implies the group hasn't had an AGM and hence is not following its own Constitution and hence the Group in essence no longer exists.

Anonymous said...

well done for pointing out what is really going on

John Oddy said...

Anon 15.57,
Councillors cannot be “sacked”, they can be suspended but this would only be after due process. You can only show your displeasure at the next election.

On the QT,
Not being “up” on constitutions or the ins and outs of a Society would it not be easier for the members and officers of the group to all resign and just start another group under a different name?

Oscar said...

On the QT,
Not being “up” on constitutions or the ins and outs of a Society would it not be easier for the members and officers of the group to all resign and just start another group under a different name?

Good idea John!!!

Anonymous said...

Shameful Chris Hughes – his (and the councils?) hidden agenda

My wife and I always used to visit the Colwyn Bay pier and the art exhibition which encouraged tourism. Chris Hughes is known not to encourage or support tourism involving hotels or the pier, and says in the paper ‘he believes the future of Colwyn Bay is not in tourism’.
I believe he and Conwy Council have a hidden agenda. They do not support tourism or local businesses, they want both to move out of Colwyn Bay. The art exhibition from the Pier has moved to Llandudno, they have a well supported pier.
Their hidden agenda is then to bring into ‘the deprived area they portray (and try to make) –i.,e. Colwyn Bay --- COUNCIL OFFICES, for their own benefit.
This is why they closed the pier. If Colwyn Bay proved to have a future in tourism –Chris Hughes would be shown to be wrong. Therefore at every opportunity, support is not given to hotels and tourist related businesses. Therefore there must be a public enquiry into the behaviour of Conwy CBC, when lots of other issues will be brought to light. These are waiting to be exposed, but at present there are only hints on internet blogs.
The question must be asked “why is left to the internet to expose the type of person Chris Hughes is”. At the art exhibition which used to be on the pier, I spoke to a person who supported the pier and Steve Hunt, yet would not join the friends of the pier –why – I would suggest it is because many people recognise that with the likes of Chris Hughes taking some control and pretending to be ‘a friend of the pier’, the organisation has been undermined. The lady I spoke to who was a genuine friend of the pier said she would like “to slap Chris Hughes” –if you read this – please do – at your court case you will have crowds of supporters.

Anonymous said...

Councillors / Council Officers DO NOT even follow the COUNCIL'S own constitution, never mind that of a society.

Even when challenged about it legally, they just refuse to answer the question as to why they break their own constitution... read about it here:
www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/councils_refusal_to_pay_court_co

and for an uncensored copy of the original FOI request, see www.victoriapier.com

Anonymous said...

Isn't Chris Hughes also a trustee of the Dans Den Charity? (I'm sure he is) - one has to question if he is a suitable person to be involved with ANY charity given the recent revelations?