JOHN Bond is a man on a mission: to prevent Woking residents from being unfairly punished for the borough council’s failures.  

He wants real transparency and openness by pressing Woking Borough Council to make available to the public documents to which it is restricting access. 

Mr Bond, an Independent Woking councillor from 2014 to 2021, believes there must be an informed discussion on the history of the council’s effective bankruptcy – one open to all.

“During a council meeting in December 2016, Woking’s Liberal Democrat councillors voted to fully support the Conservatives’ first massive over-expenditure on Woking’s town centre,” he says. 

“They voted for a £460million loan, knowing full well the interest due would effectively double the amount which has to be repaid – almost £1billion.

“Recently the leader of Woking Council [a Liberal Democrat] publicly told the government’s commissioners she was ‘committed to transparency and openness’, but the council meeting for December 2016 and other relevant documents are not available to Woking residents despite repeated requests.

“Woking residents have recently had a survey asking them how they wish to be punished for the mistakes of Woking councillors. The implication is this is completely the fault of the Conservative councillors, but the Liberal Democrats fully supported the Conservatives’ failed policies time and time again – and now hide their complicity.

“The council meeting in December 2016 had an item on Victoria Square. A summary includes: ‘Cllr Kingsbury introduced the recommendations for the implementation of the Victoria Square development proposals. He advised the proposals would lead to the improvement of the economic vitality of the borough and transform the proposed area. Significant job opportunities would arise and residential homes be provided. The issue for the council was not whether the proposal was the right thing to do but whether the funding of £460m could be made available. The council was advised that the funding would be used to invest in the borough and would be obtained from the Public Works Loans Board at a fixed rate of interest.’

“The vote to accept this expenditure [£460m plus interest] included the votes of Cllrs Barker, Forster and Johnson – now in charge of the council.

“I have asked the council to allow Woking residents full access to all the relevant documents on meetings, questions, complaints, responses, and Part 2 [originally confidential items] but have had no reply. The 2016 council meeting is still not available on the council’s website – documents stop in 2017.

“The government commissioners may be unhappy to discover the first promise made to them by the council leader has already been broken. How can Woking residents believe in a council which has broken its first promise to the government?

“Only when the council keeps its promise of ‘transparency and openness’ can Woking residents and the government decide whether this council deserves their support and trust.

“Already this seems unlikely, and time is rapidly running out. 

“The continuation of Woking Council certainly does not seem beneficial for its residents, and the government needs to consider whether it merits further support.”