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20200415A-EM-RICD-NPTC-CLEA-contam4-01
15/5/2020 - (Dai Richards to NPTC Council
Leader)
Distribution Main :
Council Leader Rob Jones - r.g.jones@npt.gov.uk
Craig Griffiths - Head of Legal Services and Monitoring Officer -
c.griffiths2@npt.gov.uk
Del Morgan (for observation) - cllr.j.d.morgan@npt.gov.uk
Simon Knoyle (for observation) cllr.s.a.knoyle@npt.gov.uk
Glynneath Town Council - for placing on record
Christina Rees MP - FAO Ciaran (for recording with other info) -
christina.rees.mp@parliament.uk
Chair of Planning Committee - Cllr S Paddison - cllr.s.paddison@npt.gov.uk - evidence of planning department malpractice/misconduct
Vice Chair of Planning Committee - Cllr Sean Pursey - cllr.s.pursey@npt.gov.uk - evidence of planning department malpractice/misconduct
Head of Finance - H Jones Distribution Copied - add to info reference council tax -
h.jones@npt.gov.uk
Distribution Blind coped:
say enz-NO residents email group.
Subject: NPTC planning department have contravened the Environmental Protection Act 1990
Dear Council Leader,
I now have enough evidence from the chain our correspondence with your council planning department and the actual planning department records to confirm my inference that the NPTC planning department have contravened the Environmental Protection Act 1990. What is clear from this chain of communication is that members of your council are aware of this and have attempted a cover up of misconduct/malpractice and possible corruption. This is your last opportunity to address this situation internally; our next step is to provide the information we have to the police.
HISTORY
We wrote to you previously as the council leader because your council is failing in its purpose to serve us as a group of residents of this area. We requested relevant information to help us understand the planning history of the Enzo site.
You in turn ignored our request for this information and passed our request on to your Head of Planning and Public Protection, Ceri Morris who has treated an information request as a complaint. (despite our refusal to complain). It is clear that he has done so in order to refuse to provide this information and avoid me entering the complaints process in the correct manner.
The Head of Planning and Public Protection has provided us with a copy of his report (authored by Steve Ball) and we can see from his report however that although it is an extensive communication, your council's protocols of providing personal opinions, avoiding relevant questions and refusing further communication are still in evidence which confirm the complete lack of integrity of Mr Morris who has signed the communication.
FAILURE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION
Your council are still refusing to provide any evidence of having followed the correct procedures following the identification of contaminated land in 2008. We reference the information release allegedly written by Ceri Morris:
1. It refers to but does not deal with the evidence we provided you of the deliberate avoidance of the 2008 contaminated land identification question we asked the planning officer Steve Ball.
2. It refers to but does not answer any of the questions we asked you in our email of 28/4/2020.
COUNCIL OF DEATH
The report by Ceri Morris of the planning department provides evidence of a disregard for human life by referencing the carcinogens Arsenic and Benzo[a]pyrene as "low level contamination" I refer to an extract from his email which states:
"I note that the Geo-Technical and Geo-Environmental Report to which you refer, which supported planning application P2008/1462, did find low levels of contamination"
We would assume that being a planning officer as opposed to a toxicologist, Ceri Morris who has signed the letter is not an expert on the carcinogenic properties of Arsenic and Benzo[a]pyrene and their effects on the human body. A scientific paper on the US National Library of Medicine by Zahir Ur Rehman et al states that:
"There is no evidence that Arsenic is essential for human health and its exposure has been linked to severe health complications such as hyperkeratosis, gangrene, hypertension, peripheral vascular disease, melnosis, keratosis, bladder and internal cancers and also its carcinogenic consequences on skin and lungs."
Arsenic causes cancer both internally and externally, what is clear to us is that the complexities of the human body and its interaction with the chemical elements including carcinogens such as Arsenic and Benzo[a]pyrene should be left to the experts in the field of toxicology not the personal opinions of the Neath-Port Talbot Council Planning Department.
It should also be noted that from 2010 onwards and including the present day application the contaminated land identified in the 2008 application has not been referenced by the NPTC planning department in any way. Remediation of the contaminated land cannot be found in any of the conditions and there is no evidence of remediation having taken place before 2010. In 2010, the planning department allowed the Cuddy group to submit a new geo-technical survey without any chemical testing. The contaminated land including the carcinogens Arsenic and Benzo[a]pyrene has clearly been hidden by the planning department for the last 11 years and it would have remained hidden if we hadn't provided evidence of its existence.
What is clear from the information available is that your council has hidden the contaminated land information thereby leaving these grade one carcinogens to be moved around at leisure by the Cuddy Group. Some of this land was moved to less than 20 meters away from my house and I had to personally confront the driver of an earth moving machine to prevent it being moved closer.
What is also clear from the planning history is that the planning department have approved further tipping on the site and considering that classified grade 1 carcinogens had already been tipped there; this provides further evidence of a complete disregard for the lives of the local residents.
To confirm the information we have just provided you with:
1. The geo-technical report conducted in 2008 containing the information about classified grade 1 carcinogens being present at the site was never referenced again. The planning department failed to report the contaminated land which they were bound to do according to your Contaminated Land Strategy and the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
2. In 2010, the planning department changed one of the conditions to allow the Cuddy Group a delay in providing a new geo-technical report which was eventually completed by a different company without the chemical testing. This delay in a new survey allowed the Cuddy Group to continue to tip industrial waste and poison. Allowing a new report without chemical testing is clear evidence of the deliberate attempt by your planning department to cover up the existence of contaminated land thereby endangering the lives of local residents.
You should also be aware that I have additional incriminating information not provided in this communication.
The above actions and the current cover up actions by the members of the planning department of your council would indicate that they are guilty of at least the criminal offence 'Misconduct in Public Office'. I would suggest that you appoint someone outside of your organisation to investigate the activities of this department who seem to place themselves above the law. The planning department of your council have for at least the last 11 years deliberately endangered the lives of the 300-400 residents of this area. If you fail to act on this information you are also guilty of the criminal offence 'Misconduct in Public Office'.
You have until May 26th to act upon this information to our satisfaction, if I am not satisfied with your response or receive no communication from you by then I will pass on the relevant information I have to the police.
regards - Dai Richards
END OF COMMUNICATION
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20200515A-NPTC-CLEA-RICD-reply-contam4-02
(15/5/2020 - NPTC Council Leader to Dai
Richards)
Subject: NPTC planning department have contravened the Environmental Protection Act 1990
Dear Mr Richards
Further to your email where you alleged that either I or my officers have committed a:
“criminal offence 'Misconduct in Public Office”
Please do not wait until the 26th May if you have as you say evidence of such an offence
The following address will help you in your set course of action and should you have sufficient information to lay a criminal complaint please do so
Local Police Commander
Chief Superintendent J. Maal
Swansea Central Police Station
Grove Rd
SWANSEA
SA1 5EA
OR
The Chief Constable
South Wales P:olice
Police Headquarters
Cowbridge Rd
Bridgend
CF31 3SU
AND / OR
The Public Services Ombudsman
1 Old Field Rd
Pencoed
Bridgend
CF35 5LJ
Please also be advised that should your allegations be unfounded against me I will have the opportunity for civil redress in relation to the potential damaged to my good character and reputation
Yours - Cllr R G Jones - Leader of Council - NPTCBC
END OF COMMUNICATION
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20200415A-EM-RICD-NPTC-CLEA-contam4-03
15/5/2020 - (Dai Richards to NPTC Council
Leader)
Dear Council Leader - further to your recent email, firstly I would like to refer you to one of your council's values as referenced in your Corporate Plan.
"We will conduct the work of the Council in an open and accessible way, ensuring we are properly accountable for the decisions we make."
This to me says you should be doing your own dirty work and investigating my concerns. I have informed you of misconduct and malpractice within your council and have previously asked you questions which you have refused to answer. You should stop refusing to be accountable for the actions of your council and practice what you preach. I refer to your Council's code of conduct which states
"Any breach of the Council’s Employee Code of Conduct is a potential disciplinary offence, which will be dealt with in accordance with the Council’s Disciplinary Procedure, and which can lead to the dismissal of the employee(s) concerned. A breach of the Code may also constitute a criminal offence.
The public is entitled to expect the highest standards of conduct from all employees of Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council. The role of such employees is to serve the Authority in providing advice, implementing its policies, and delivering services to the local community. In performing their duties, they must act with integrity, honesty, impartiality and objectivity."
What the above passages tell me is that rather than taking the easy option of passing me on to the police and ombudsman, you should grow a pair of council leader's balls and sort your own council problems.
As I previously suggested in an email I considered that your actions were an error in personal judgement rather than misconduct, we all make mistakes.
I provided evidence to Craig Griffiths earlier in an email of what I believe to be misconduct by Ceri Morris and Steve Ball, he is in a position to confirm my judgement of misconduct on the provided evidence of the actions of these officers and to report it to the police if neccessary. I would suggest in the interest of the accountability of your organisation you oversee this investigation.
My main concern is the continued presence of carcinogens in the vicinity of my house which is a legacy of your councils malpractice/misconduct and the proposed plans of your council to allow these carcinogens to be moved within 3 metres of my house without allowing myself and the residents of our area the opportunity to provide a fair representation for the future safety to our heath and properties, your good character and reputation are of no concern to me. To date you have not earned my respect and you continue to squander opportunities to earn this.
Your council's refusal to provide information and answer questions clearly indicates that your organisation has a lot to hide and like I said in my earlier email I have enough to go to the police but I would prefer it to be dealt with internally and if I was to go to the police I would like to be able to provide more information (which both you and your planning department are still refusing to provide) so that the police who have their limitations can proceed with certainty.
Perhaps at this point the Planning Committee Chair and Vice -chair should step up and say "we can help - ask us those questions and we'll make sure that we find out the answers for you and provide them without a fuss" I refer to the following 4 values from your Corporate Plan
"We will conduct the work of the Council in an open and accessible way, ensuring we are properly accountable for the decisions we make.
We will make the best use of all resources available to us.
We will be open to challenge and will promote a culture of learning and innovation throughout our organisation.
We will further strengthen the bonds of collaboration, working with others – including the voluntary, statutory and private sectors to benefit our citizens and communities."
I could make a case of misconduct against you personally but as you have shown in your plucky reply you are passionate about your honesty, if only that were true of the planning department of your council, honesty that is. For example I could say that.
In an email I provided you with information that your council had broken the Environmental Protection Act and asked you to provide evidence that it hadn't. (true)
You replied to that email and rather than providing the relevant information you refused to even refer to it and instead of following protocol and pointing me towards the council complaints process you enlisted the help of two of your heads of department (true) and oversaw their actions (implication) as they railroaded me in and out of your complaints process despite my thrice refusing to accept that I wasn't complaining (true) only requesting information, these emails included one email that was sent to yourself. (true)
I'm not sure if you were then kept informed while Ceri Morris asked Steve Ball to write his own complaints process letter (implication), (see attached image). I suppose we could leave that to the jury to decide.
Hypothetically speaking of course.
I will eventually be adding this email exchange in the interests of accountability etc to the following web page
http://www.walk-around-wales.com/county/npt/glynneath/enzo-development/correspondence/nptc-leader.htm#contam2008
Where I will be accountable for my actions in doing so.
Finally I will leave you with one of my favourite quotes of yours from the 2019-22 Corporate Plan
"We will be open to challenge and will promote a culture of learning and innovation throughout our organisation."
Have a lovely weekend.
regards - Dai Richards
Neath-Port Talbot Sports Personality of the Year 2001
www.dai-richards.wales
END OF COMMUNICATION
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20200517A-EM-RICD-NPTC-CLEA-steve.ball.complaint1
Subject: Planning Department complaint by the Council Leader
Dear Council Leader
Would the Council Leader care to comment on the fact that a complaint about Steve Ball which he instructed his Head of Planning and Public Protection Ceri Morris to investigate. has been written by Steve Ball?
Further to my email of last Friday (15/5/2017) I am providing you with a simplification of the information contained in the email and attached image.
On the 19/4/2020 (email below) we provided you with information that your Council was most likely in breach of the
Environmental Protection Act and we asked you for information
relating to the existence of carcinogens in the land which borders our properties.
During this email we also provided you with evidence that the planning department had avoided this question and refused to answer any further
questions. The purpose of providing this information to you was to show that we had attempted to gain the information from the correct source.
On the 20/4/2020 you decided that this request for information was a complaint against the planning officer Steve Ball and passed our information request on to his head of department Ceri Morris
Following an email from Ceri Morris on the 24/4/2020, on the 28/4/2020 we informed both you and Ceri Morris (twice) that the purpose of our original email (see below) was to request information and not to complain.about Steve Ball and that we did not wish to register a complaint. You ignored this email.
On 4/5/2020 - we received your "Steve Ball complaint resolution" letter from Ceri Morris which according to the meta data (hidden properties) of the document was written by Steve Ball.
Would the Council Leader care to comment on the fact that a complaint about Steve Ball which he instructed his Head of Planning and Public Protection Ceri Morris to investigate. has been written by Steve Ball?
regards - Dai Richards
image below sent
and original Ceri Morris letter attached - CLICK
HERE
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