Arun must give a fair hearing

With regard to the public meeting organised by the Friends of Maltravers Park, however, a point of clarification is needed.

I, too, attended the meeting and witnessed the exchange between organisers and the two council employees who had come in place of Arun District Council’s chief executive Nigel Lynn, who had been invited.

Essentially, the situation was a bit like a wedding reception, where two of the guests have turned up with their plastic lunch boxes and Thermos flasks, which they then proceed to lay out on the reception table.

Obviously, this kind of behaviour is not acceptable, and the two employees in question were reminded that they were, in fact, guests, and that the large noticeboard with promotional material they had brought along was inappropriate.

They were also reminded that there would be an open question and answer session, in which they were welcome to participate. While this arrangement seemed perfectly acceptable to the councillors present, the Arun employees took umbrage at this and chose to leave.

Unfortunately, since then, Mr Lynn has stated that no officers will meet with the Friends group in future and, furthermore, that the council will “progress matters without further communication” with the Friends.

Unfortunately, for him, evidently, as an office-holder, he is duty-bound to give a fair hearing to the community, whose civic well-being and interests he is being paid to manage.

While loyalty to one’s staff is admirable, it is of great concern if it appears that personal relationships cloud professional judgment to the extent that objective decision-making seems no longer possible.

These are the people who hold the future of Littlehampton and Arun district in their hands! How many more knee-jerk reactions and ill-considered actions can be expected from them? We live in fear and trepidation.

Tereze Svilane

Gloucester Place, Littlehampton