To receive questions from members of the public in accordance with Standing Order No. 12.
Question by Max Kerley in relation to Rufford Close:
At the Council meeting on 18 October Cllr Gilby in response to a question from Cllr Falconer informed the Council that the matter had been settled by arbitration and that the final adjudication had been received in May 2022. My question is which parties were involved in this arbitration and what financial settlements formed part of the adjudication?
Minutes:
Under Standing Order No. 12, the following question was asked by Max Kerley, in relation to Rufford Close:
At the Council meeting on 18 October Cllr Gilby in response to a question from Cllr Falconer informed the Council that the matter had been settled by arbitration and that the final adjudication had been received in May 2022. My question is which parties were involved in this arbitration and what financial settlements formed part of the adjudication?
Councillor Tricia Gilby provided a verbal response as follows:
· Legal proceedings had not been completed, nor had the matter been settled by arbitration.
· A written reply had been sent to Cllr Falconer and all members of Council in response to the question that Cllr Falconer had asked at October’s council meeting.
· The dispute between the Council and one of the contractors had been referred to adjudication and the decision received in May 2022.
· The adjudication decision hadn’t addressed all elements of the dispute to the Council’s satisfaction and therefore the Council was contemplating bringing further legal proceedings through arbitration or the courts.
· The adjudication decision, other documents relating to it and the parties involved were all legally privileged and therefore could not be disclosed.
The following supplementary question was asked by Max Kerley;
Is the Leader’s reluctance to answer the first question, in the hope that the Council can get more monies in legal proceedings or is it an attempt to protect and shield Derbyshire Building Control Partnership and the Chief Executive of Chesterfield Borough Council?
Councillor Tricia Gilby provided a verbal response stating that she wasn’t able to disclose any further information than that shared in response to Mr Kerley’s original question.