Shropshire Council criticised for 'making decision in private'

Councillor Andy Boddington, who represents Ludlow South, has taken to his blog to express his concerns regarding the authority's decision-making process, and this week claims he has been asked to remove one of his blog posts by council officials.

Prior to being elected as a councillor, he published an article on the Lib Dems' Voice blog suggesting that Shropshire Council was slipping into a "black hole of democracy", and more than two years later he said this has not improved.

This week, he wrote: "When it (Shropshire Council) can keep information secret, it will. It loves to make decisions with the press and public excluded.

"That has not changed one bit with the election of the new leader.

"Earlier in the week, I published an article about a committee meeting and something they didn't want me to write about.

"I have been asked by council officials to remove the post.

"It seems that this committee, which I had never heard of, is a secret affair. I hadn't understood that. The papers were not marked confidential. There is nothing in them that needs to be considered confidential.

"But officers say the meeting is a secret meeting so I cannot write about it. So I can't tell you what the meeting was intending to recommend."

Councillor Boddington has removed the post but said "at least as far as I am able to in this social media age".

"This episode shows just how out of touch Shropshire Council is with modern media," he said.

"If we want democracy to work, we need to share information. We need to open up decision making to the public. This is easy stuff – except of course when some people don't want to engage with the public."

Although he is unable to disclose the matter, Councillor Boddington has said the public being able to speak at council meetings is "paramount".

He said: "It's fundamental democracy, people who pay for council tax should be able to speak and be heard at council meetings.

"I don't know any other council in the country that does not allow members of the public to have their say."

Nobody from Shropshire Council was available for comment last night.