A York Labour councillor has rebuked the city’s Labour MP for ‘inappropriate’ comments about the council’s work.
Cllr Rachel Melly took Rachael Maskell to task after the MP questioned the impartiality of a licensing hearing at City of York Council.
It follows the decision of Monday’s hearing to grant an alcohol licence to Roxy Ball Room, a games bar coming to Stonebow House.
Ms Maskell, the Labour MP for York Central, had objected to the application, saying in a press release before the hearing that she was “hopeful that the values of the Labour Council for good jobs, putting residents first and taking a public health approach to all policies will kick this application into the long grass”.
The committee approved the licence, while imposing a set of conditions to ameliorate the impact of the bar on local residents.
Afterwards, Ms Maskell tweeted: “Games bar approved for York city centre. Disappointed that the Lib Dem Councillors on the committee nodded this through (none of them represent the centre of York). Not even asking for a risk assessment first. I’ll fight for a family friendly York.”
‘They didn’t nod it through’
In response, licensing committee chair and Labour ward councillor for Guildhall Cllr Melly wrote: “The members of the licensing panel took a non-political decision, having assessed all the evidence and the licensing objectives.
“Their political party membership and the ward they represent is irrelevant. It’s completely inappropriate to politicise a licensing decision this way.
“Councillors are barred from sitting on hearing panels to determine applications in wards they represent. So if you want to try and undermine licensing decisions that were made by councillors who don’t represent the area then you’ve got hundreds to go through.
“They didn’t ‘nod it through’. They spent hours and hours reading and hearing evidence, deliberating, and consulting a senior licensing solicitor.
“They then approved it with additional and amended conditions they felt were necessary and reasonable to uphold the licensing objectives.”
One of the three Lib Dem councillors who took part in the Roxy hearing, former licensing committee chair Ashley Mason, said no Labour councillors were available.
Cllr Mason said: “Ms Maskell’s comments before and after the hearing are very disappointing. These hearing are a quasi-judicial apolitical process. On this case we held a three-hour hearing, which Ms Maskell failed to turn up for as an official objector.
“We placed reasonable conditions on the license holder to limit the venue to 400 people, limit glass bottle recycling collection to 8am-8pm and to require the duty manager’s mobile number and a senior area manager’s email is delivered by hand to nearby residents every 6 months.
“We have to decide these applications based on licensing regulations and not on party political beliefs or personally held views.”