THE TELEPHONE HOUSE NEIGHBOURS ASSOCIATION
37 Church Road
Royal Tunbridge Wells
TN1 1JT
e-mail: telephonehouse@cs.com
internet: http://uk.geocities.com/telephonehouse

Rodney Stone Esq
The Chief Executive
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
Town Hall TN1 1RS

8 October2001

Dear Mr Stone

Telephone House Development - Our List of Questions -

Thank you for your letter of 9th September.

You doubt the usefulness of answering our questions, now that the appeal has been allowed. With respect, we ask what right or reason you have to refuse to answer. Our questions are now far beyond the appeal, and we are concerned that as Chief Executive, but nevertheless a servant of the borough, you seem bent on hiding the facts, but you should be the first to want answers.

It may be too late to appeal, but never again must the wishes of Councillors and residents be frustrated by the actions of officers, so far unexplained and seemingly deliberate. The appeal and what has followed since has resulted in the rate-payer having to bear a six figure sum, by way of costs awarded to the appellants, as rumor has it.

If you are implying in your letter that because council officers were not specifically mentioned by the Inspector, they were not wholly or largely the subject of his comments of "unreasonable behaviour", who do you suggest was meant?

We would have thought that it was fairly obvious from our letters why answers to our questions will be useful to us. Nevertheless we will elaborate. We wish to have a Council which is efficient and sensibly run for the benefit of the residents and rate-payers, by officers, who report properly to and advise accurately our elected Councillors. Our experience with regard to the Telephone House development and Policy H6(a) makes us question whether this is so.

Depending upon your replies to our questions it must be decided whether or not any further action is needed and who would be requested to initiate it.

Under the tenet of Open Government, may we now please have your considered answers by 22 October 2001.

Yours sincerely
Annemarie Topliss
Secretary
for the Committee of
The Telephone House Neighbours Association

2001 - The uneasy questions to the Chief Executive Rodney Stone and other senior officers of TWBC 2003 - the questions are still unanswered - they are as intriguing as in 2001. What went wrong with the Telephone House Planning Applications ?

During summer/autumn 2001, after the Public Inquiry - The attitude of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council's Chief Executive and Director of Operational Services towards Residents

The Telephone House Neighbours Association, Tunbridge Wells The aims are to heighten peoples' awareness and concern for the high-density development on Telephone House site, Church Road / York Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1.