Dear Councillors

It’s clear from the documents we obtained from our latest Freedom of Information request, that the narrative around the Hamptons is now being dictated by a select group of councillors and council officials.

You may remember that when we wrote to the ward councillors on 04/11//20 we were quickly warned off by the CEO, and councillors were instructed not to respond.

We feel it’s vital that all ward councillors are fully up to speed with the ongoing situation at the Hamptons, and should form their own opinions, rather than just comply with the council’s contrived narrative.

So we sent out another email on 31/01/21:

“Dear Councillor

We write with regards to the ongoing situation at Hamptons Sports & Leisure Centre in Great Baddow.

You may recall that we contacted yourself and all other Chelmsford City Councillors back in November regarding this issue. Subsequent to this, Nick Eveleigh, Chief Executive, wrote to us to advise that Councillors have no role on this issue, and asked that we cease contacting them. As we feel that this goes against the core principles of how Local Councils should be seen to operate, we therefore respectfully reject this request.

Since our last contact, senior Officers within the Council have reconsidered this case and have now issued an informal and contradictory assessment, without any formal consultation or consideration of due process.

We are of the opinion that the Council is failing to deal with this issue in an open and transparent manner, and as such fails to inspire public confidence. City Councillors are being denied the right to exercise their own judgement on this issue.

We would invite you to watch the following video on this matter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLwZ8rNs9Eg&fbclid

We apologise if you see this email as an intrusion or if you feel this issue is of no relevance to yourself, but we feel it is important that the actions and decision process of the Planning Department and Senior Officers on this matter are brought to the attention of all serving Councillors.

Kind Regards,

Save The Hamptons

www.savethehamptons.co.uk”