As Town Clerk in Chipping Bonhunt I remain neutral politically and observe elections with caution. However, there have been some interesting developments with the District Council which affect villages not served by our Town Council, so I think I might allow myself a few comments.

Until the forthcoming elections in May, the current Leader of the District Council represents a ward within Chipping Bonhunt. The District’s policies have been very controversial in this ward, because it is where the District Council proposed to built a lot of new housing under the draft Local Plan that was recently comprehensively rejected by the Inspector at the Public Inquiry. Despite this, much of the housing has already been granted planning permission – a sort of fait accompli as it were.

Whether this or other factors led to the District Council Leader getting himself selected to stand for another ward, representing some of our town’s neighbouring villages,  we cannot be certain. However, some might think he had joined the “chicken run.” This is what politicians tend to do when they think they can’t get re-elected for the area they currently represent: they try to stand for somewhere they think is a safer bet.

However, I read in the ever excellent Chipping Bonhunt Recorder that one of the leading figures from the local residents’ group is now going to stand in the same ward. It should make for a very interesting election. What we might call a clash of the titans!