Report on the Marlow Town Council Parish Meeting 17th October

There was an amazing turn-out at the Parish Meeting on 17th October, called by Marlow residents who disagreed with Marlow Town Council’s handling of the film studio planning application.

In the absence of the mayor and deputy mayor, Cllr Scott chaired the meeting, with Cllr Funnell remaining silent by his side for the entire duration. Cllr Scott flat out refused to explain any action by the council or councillors on multiple occasions, even when called on as a resident rather than a councillor. Even so, Cllr Scott was keen to stress several times that the support letter he published was the opinion of individual councillors.

However, the statements from the public were illuminating:

• Marlow Town Councillors regularly have private meetings where policy decisions are made;
• a resident who was told by Cllr Scott previously that a public meeting on the subject was not necessary because “the only people that would turn up would object to it”;
• a Marlovian active in the film industry who has worked in several film studios for many years, but never with “a local”. He only gets nasty looks from them when parking the car in residential areas;
• several residents who fear for the impact of the traffic on their daily lives
• residents for whom the Greenbelt area is a mental health refuge;

Two votes were called at the meeting. The first vote was that the residents censure Marlow Town Council for its behaviour. The second vote was to call upon Marlow Town Council to formally object to the film studio planning application (even if individually councillors may support it) ahead of the Strategic Sites Committee meeting on Monday.

Both were carried with an overwhelming majority. The question is: will Marlow Town Council listen to its residents?