Bishopgate: Council Accused of Corruption

bristol | local government | feature Tuesday November 04, 2008 22:56 by imcvol

Did £120k-a-year senior officer David Bishop make a 'private arrangement' with multi-millionaire, Merchant Venturer architect, George Ferguson?

Updates from The Bristol Blogger and Green Bristol.

Back in August this year blogger Green Bristol reported that closer inspection of plans for some new houses in Greenbank would intrude onto the Railway Path, despite council documents that suggest this land was not due to be sold off. Then information was uncovered to suggest that the council had been debating the issue but the outcome seems to have been decided in a hurried and secretive manner. After more revelations and bureaucracy, The Bristol Blogger writes; Documents released today by Bristol City Council under Freedom of Information legislation appear to expose corruption in senior officer ranks at the Council House. The documents clearly demonstrate that £120k a year senior officer David Bishop - a “strategic leader” according to wet-behind-the-ears Chief Exec Ormondroyd - made what amounts to a private arrangement with multi-millionaire, Merchant Venturer architect, George Ferguson to sell him a plot of public land on the Bristol and Bath Railway Path at Greenbank. In making this odd decision, Bishop ignored not only democratically created city council policy (the Parks and Green Spaces Strategy) but the advice of his own conservation, parks, leisure, property and transport officers. Full article.

| Corruption exposed at the Council House | thebristolblogger.wordpress.com | greenbristolblog.blogspot.com | vowlesthegreen.blogspot.com | bristolgreengage.blogspot.com| FOI Documents (whatdotheyknow.com) |

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