Sir – The Gifford House site, including part of the Contact Centre land, is now on the property market.
A double sided glossy leaflet is available from a company in central London which is acting for the council and Care UK.
A company spokesman said Richmond Council is its client and that in order to obtain additional details, including a planning statement, a letter of confidentiality must be signed before a password will be given to an internet site.
Of course, residents are very interested to know what the council proposes for Gifford House which is in Twickenham Green conservation area.
Why is there so much secrecy?
It will be remembered that the council refused pre-application consultation for the withdrawn application for Gifford House and the Contact Centre, despite the council’s statement of community involvement.
It is just this lack of consultation that annoys people who live in the area, especially when the trend in the country is towards effective participation for communities and democratic citizen involvement.
Residents living around the Gifford House site would like the council to reveal its proposals.
It should bear in mind what happened in 2007 when the community unanimously rejected the application for the site.
Effective partnership is more likely to produce a satisfactory result for all concerned.
Councillors and officers should also remember that they work for us and are not the sole custodians of our borough.
GIFFORD HOUSE ACTION GROUP
A member of Richmond United Group
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