I WRITE regarding the decision to build a waste incinerator at Ardley.

Much coverage has been afforded to county council leader Keith Mitchell’s assurances that the decisions by his cabinet to: 1. Select Viridor as the preferred contractor to build the proposed incinerator at Ardley; and 2. Sign a contract with Viridor prior to uncontested planning permission being granted; were made after lengthy consultation with, and scrutiny by, the council and the Oxfordshire public.

Mr Mitchell is incorrect. Neither decision was entered into the four-month Forward Plan as mandated by the council’s own constitution.

I complained to Mr Mitchell that decisions of such major importance should have been given the full exposure and scrutiny that the Forward Plan is designed to allow.

Mr Mitchell, through his legal department, rejected my complaint – which I then took to the Local Government Ombudsman – which found in my favour.

In its findings, it stated that the council should have been able to use its Forward Plan process to ensure full public participation in these key decisions, and not doing so was a service failure.

It urges the council to consider why it was possible for this procurement matter to miss the Forward Plan as often as it did and to consider an apology.

While I have received an apology, I remain very disappointed that such major decisions were not available for scrutiny by the public or the council itself.

It took the LGO to finally get the council to come clean. This is a proven example of how the council has handled the entire procurement process – with minimum exposure to, or engagement with, the public.

Mr Mitchell is head of the council and the person responsible for the creation of the Forward Plan.

I was disappointed that he could not respond to my complaint himself.

DR IAN GROVES Station Road Ardley