Selby councillor Brian Percival hits back after ‘no confidence’ vote

Residents of Bolton Percy claim their local councillor Brian Percival, who is the deputy leader of Selby District Council, appeared to be backing the proposals for eight homes despite considerable local opposition.

Richard Musgrave, spokesman for an action group set up to fight the scheme, said 51 residents attending a group meeting had unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in Coun Percival.

He said: “We found out about the proposed site by chance. When I approached the parish council I found that they also did not know that a site had been identified and the land owner approached.”

He said a petition against the building of any affordable housing in Bolton Percy had been signed by 90 per cent of households, and claimed there was no evidence of need for affordable housing in the village and the proposals were driven by council targets. He also claimed Coun Percival had been aware since December of discussions between council representatives, a local landowner and a housing association.

Coun Percival said residents had, in effect, been saying they did not want “second class” people living in the village, “no matter that they were the second or third generation of people who already lived there.”

He said: “Does the village not want its young people to have the opportunity to live in the village? I am aware that eight young families in the area of the parish have left the villages in the past three years because they could not afford housing, and yet work locally.”

He also released a copy of a letter from Jonathan Lund, deputy chief executive of Selby District Council, to Bolton Percy Parish Council, in which he said there had been no “secret dealings” over affordable housing, and nor had the parish council been excluded from the consultation process.

He said the district council had been consistently supportive of the principle of providing affordable housing for local people which met identifiable local needs.