Council apologises for errors over claims of support for naming garden village
A complaint against West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) from Eynsham Parish Council (EPC) surrounding the naming of Salt Cross garden village has been upheld.
A Cabinet report from WODC inaccurately suggested that the Parish Council was supportive of the name Salt Cross which was chosen via a public competition.
This was not the case, nor was the suggestion that land promoters Grosvenor Britain & Ireland also backed the name.
Although the errors were later corrected at the Cabinet meeting last February, corrections were not made in the previously published Cabinet papers or in a subsequent press release.
A letter acknowledging the errors has now been sent from West Oxfordshire District Council Chief Executive Giles Hughes to Gordon Beach, Chairman of Eynsham Parish Council.
Mr Hughes said: “The Parish Council as a body did not resolve that it was supportive of the name Salt Cross. In this context I apologise for the misleading statements made in the Cabinet report and in a subsequent press release.
“I would like to apologise to Eynsham Parish Council and I am sorry for any distress or inconvenience caused. A series of recommendations have been developed for officers to makes sure that these issues do not arise again in the future.”
Mr Hughes added: “Notwithstanding this apology I still consider that the naming process, including the competition and our engagement with key stakeholders, was a valuable process which helped the Council choose Salt Cross as a name.”