LETTER: Secret meetings on preferred site

In my letter ‘Interpretations of councillor’s role’ (1.5.14) I explained how Kingdom Faith appears to see Cllr Helena Croft’s (Roffey North) role at Horsham District Council. Clive Urquhart (a Kingdom Faith pastor) said in his ‘Vision Night’ speech (January 2014) that: ‘Helena… God is doing stuff with her… she goes into that environment [Horsham District Council] not in her own name but she goes in as Kingdom Faith’.

Yet in your paper (1.5.13) Mrs Croft said: ‘I don’t speak on behalf of Kingdom Faith’.

In her recent newsletter ‘in touch’ delivered to ‘my residents’ she states ‘...integrity and honesty are paramount core convictions that I live by. Like it or not, the reality is that the controversial North Horsham development plan that has been so much in the news has never been in our gift to stop ever since it was identified in 2009 as a potential strategic site...’.

Now, Mrs Croft, North Horsham was ONE of the sites considered in 2009. However, by 2011 Horsham District Council had decided that it was not the main preferred site, with full justification given.

Then Cllr Vickers took over and in secret meetings North Horsham became the preferred site.

Well on 30 April in the council meeting to consider the Local Plan for Horsham District, Cllr Croft voted in favour of the flawed plan to build more than 2,500 houses, a 500,000 sq ft industrial park, a huge supermarket and more on the green fields between Horsham and Crawley.

She did this despite opposition from residents throughout North Horsham.

So Cllr Croft maintains she doesn’t speak on behalf of Kingdom Faith yet her fellow pastor Clive Urquhart feels she does.

Confusion? She chooses not to put her electorate first by voting for this Local Plan.

In her speech she followed Cllr Jim Rae and warmly agreed with his emotional attempts to justify his very unpopular position.

GWEN TAYLOR

Havengate, Horsham