FORMER Labour city councillor Patrick Davies has criticised the allegedly excessively secret way Winchester City Council is working – and has been backed by the opposition Lib Dem leader.

Mr Davies says the council has ignored the findings of the inquiry into the Silver Hill fiasco which called for greater openness in decision-making.

Mr Davies objected to the council’s "astonishing 18 months of secret meetings to alter the way the council operates."

He said: "It is appalling that the council has totally ignored the recommendations of the Lloyd-Jones report 'A Perfect Storm' of 2017 which criticised the council’s method of working through 'reference groups' or informal policy groups which met in private over a long period to discuss the Silver Hill saga, without any public papers."

Another informal group of Tory and Liberal Democrat councillors has met at least six times over those 18 months to redraw the council’s constitution.

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Mr Davies said: "This sounds very dry and boring but over 300 pages of detailed text includes new authority for setting up even more of these dubious groups which meet in private with no role for the public to read the papers or hear what is being done in their name.

"After I raised my concerns it was obvious that all 45 councillors, Lib Dems and Tories alike, had been aware of this exercise but not one of them had made public what was going on.

"The new constitution claims to set out new rights for local citizens to influence council policy but these will be totally useless if they are only able to do so months after a whole series of secret meetings have effectively made decisions subject only to formal endorsement. Winchester really does deserve better than this."

Responding to Mr Davies outcry, Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr Lucille Thompson said: "I think he's probably right. We do want the council to become more open and transparent.

"They are making decisions but other councillors don't know these informal meetings are going on."

Cllr Thompson added the party would be calling for strong 'declarations of interests' at the city council, meaning councillor would have to be more open about the people and groups they are affiliated with.

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She said: "Over recent years we have had to declare less and less and we think that is wrong."

However, council leader Cllr Caroline Horrill said she fundamentally disagreed with Mr Davies and Cllr Thompson.

Cllr Horrill said: “I’m surprised the leader of the opposition has taken the position. She has been party to the whole thing.

“The view is we have a much more robust decision now. We have review this through the overview and scrutiny committee and audit committee. I would refute completely it is not transparent.”

Cllr Horrill also said that IPG meeting minutes are made public, adding: “It is quite legitimate for the council to have working groups, IPGs have been used in the council for a very significant time.”

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The constitution is now set to go before councillors at an extraordinary council meeting being held on Tuesday evening.

Councillors will debate the new document before being asked to adopt it from April.