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Please
note the Commission for Local Administration in Wales also known as the
Local Government Ombudsman for Wales is now
the Public Service Ombudsman fo Wales.
Mr David Bowen is the
Secretary to the Commission for Local
Administration in Wales.
Dear Mr Bowen,
Ref: 1997/1018/PKII/010 CO/4/CP
Complaint of
Maladministration against Brecon Beacons
National Park
Thank you for your letter dated 21 March 2002
Once again you give an ex cathedra decision with no
consideration of the substantive issues involved. Whether or not my
complaint is related to my initial submission is quite immaterial; in fact,
if anything it adds to the evidence of misadministration throughout this
messy affair.
I have been aware for some time that the Commissioner finally
took someone seriously and looked into a matter quite similar to the one I
raised. Indeed he asked one member of the Planning Committee how a decision
could possibly have been made without a site visit. You may recall that was
a major point in my initial complaint. My request was never properly
considered, as a result of favouritism, incompetence, and crookedness.
I am abroad at the moment, but I have been informed of the
Commissioner’s scathing remarks reported in the press about the planning
activities of the National Park. While I have not yet read the full details,
my advisers tell me that he notes as matters for censure the very issues
that I tried to get him to consider several years ago. Although he refused
to investigate, both you and he felt competent to judge the issues, whilst
continuing to argue that you could not do so. You never gave any
consideration to the points I raised, and any comments were directed to
destroying straw men’ of your own creation. I am told that one of the
Commissioner’s criticisms of the Park is that access depends upon whom one
knows. I wonder if the same criticism could not be extended to his own
office. I have been treated in an utterly unacceptable manner. Not only has
your office taken refuge in technicalities to avoid consideration, but every
obstacle has been put in my path to obtaining justice in other ways. You
have even found it impossible to reply to a simpe
query with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’
and have relied instead on obscure verbiage. I have found the whole process
infused by personal arrogance, lack of intellectual rigour, and moral
irresponsibility The Commissioner finally bestirred himself to act, and I am
very happy about that. I wonder how much heartache, money and effort on the
part of myself and many others could have been saved had he looked earlier
into the prima facie case of misadministration that I
presented to him.
Yours sincerely,
L D Johnston |