FOLLOWING on from my letter to your paper about the lack of attendance at full council meetings, I attended the Northern Area planning meeting, Beech Hurst July 16.

To find that of the 26 councillors on this committee, 11 members could not be bothered to turn up! Maybe they were all on holiday together?

I do think it is time to drastically reduce the number of councillors on TVBC. Also to look into the idea to only pay councillor allowances to them for the meetings that they actually turn up to.

Maybe we would get a better attendance at these meetings then? Also think of the savings to the people of Test Valley.

Looking on the plus side, with so many absent Tory councillors from this meeting at least the planning application by INRG Solar Ltd for a solar farm at Quarley on a 11 Ha site got permission. The solar farm will have a capacity of up to 5MW and as such generate electricity per year for approximately 1500 homes. This development will be a valuable contribution to meeting targets for renewable energy generation.

So maybe those absent councillors have done the developer a huge favour by being absent, as the vote for permission was very close, the deciding vote cast by the committee chair.

Nigel Long, Lib Dem campaigner St Mary’s ward, Andover