Cash pay out joy for HHAG
Published on 1st November 2007 in News
The roll of success for the Holland House Action Group (HHAG) continued this week when the group recovered nearly £9,000 of wasted expenses following 'unreasonable behaviour' from Partnerships in Care (PiC).
The grand total of £8,987.07 was received by HHAG earlier this week following PiC's last-minute decision to pull out of the battle to see former nursing home Holland House turned into a secure unit.
In March this year, PiC and PD Services were due to attend public inquiries after each lodged an appeal in response to East Riding of Yorkshire Council's (ERYC) decision to refuse either of them planning permission to turn the empty Holland House into secure units for patients with personality disorders. Both withdrew their applications just weeks before their inquiries were due to start.
As a result, HHAG applied for a recovery of costs, on the grounds that PD Services and PiC had acted unreasonably and that their actions had resulted in an unnecessary and wasted expense for HHAG, which had been preparing a case to be put forward at the public inquiries.
The Action Group was granted permission for recovery of costs by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and the figure received this week from PiC reflects two-thirds of the total cost that HHAG had to bear when preparing to fight the company in an inquiry.
HHAG chairman Keith Moore told the Goole Times this week that the latest success was "another step forward" to the group's ultimate goal.
As we went to press yesterday, members of HHAG still did not know whether they were to receive a further £5,407.26 from PD Services, which currently owns the site of the former nursing home and which, like PiC, also pulled out of an inquiry at the last moment. This figure again represents two-thirds of the total cost that HHAG had to bear when preparing the case for a public inquiry with PD Services.
Keith Moore said: "When Partnerships in Care and PD Services pulled out of the inquiries, we cited unreasonable behaviour as we believe the companies might have done this to aggravate and stretch our expenditure.
"We are still not aware what PD Services wants to do with the site, but Holland House Action Group and its supporters are as resilient as ever."
Meanwhile, HHAG is holding its Annual General Meeting on November 14, when a new chairman, secretary and treasurer for the group will be announced.