Tory anger as council leader receives planning approval 'through back door'

'HUMAN ERROR' MEANT APPLICATION TO EXTEND GARAGE BYPASSED COMMITTEE

- By TESS RUSHIN

THE leader of Oadby and Wigston Borough Council has blamed “human error” for a breach of planning rules in which an application to extend her garage bypassed the authority's planning committee.

But opposition councillors say the incident is far from an “administrative oversight” and have called for an inquiry.

Councillor Samia Haq claimed her agent had made a mistake filling in the application form for a single-storey front garage extension at her home in Gartree Road, Oadby.

The application, made in June, was prepared and submitted by the agent on behalf of Councillor Haq’s husband, Leicester city councillor Zuffar Haq, and was approved by the Liberal Democrat-controlled borough council’s officers in August.

Conservative councillors have criticised the lack of “required scrutiny” the application should have faced.

A report to last week’s full meeting of the borough council revealed that a complaint under the members’ code of conduct was received in August.

This queried the granting of the permission “under officers’ delegated authority”.