Stalemate on stink remark

There will be no public apology from a district and county councillor over controversial comments he made about Newark.

Mr Keith Walker, the chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council’s planning and licensing committee, told a meeting of the committee last month that people called the town Newark-on-Stink rather than Newark-on-Trent because of smells from the British Sugar factory and sewage works.

His comments were made during a debate on a controversial application to site a household waste recycling centre on Newark’s Industrial Estate.

The application was approved despite objections from Newark and Sherwood District Council and people living nearby.

Mrs Gill Dawn, who represents the area, put a motion to a meeting of the district council on Tuesday calling on Mr Walker to apologise for his reference.

It was seconded by Mrs Irene Brown, who also represents the area.

Mrs Dawn said it was not funny to say that a place stunk and said she was offended when she read what Mr Walker had said.

“He should not have repeated it in a roomful of senior councillors,” she said.

Mrs Dawn also criticised the county council’s decision to allow the application which, she said, would cause problems for the area.

Mr Walker said he had never personally said that the town should be called Newark-on-Stink.

What he had said was that some people did not call it Newark-on-Trent, they called it Newark- on-Stink instead.

Mr Walker said that Mrs Dawn, as the district councillor for the area, could have gone to the committee meeting and spoken against the application but had not done so and she should apologise to her ward for that.

The leader of the district council, Mr Tony Roberts, said he hoped that after hearing what Mr Walker had to say and the context in which he had made the comments Mrs Dawn might be minded to withdraw her motion.

He proposed an amendment calling on the council to welcome the explanation, which was agreed.

Mrs Dawn said she might have considered withdrawing the motion but for Mr Walker’s final comment that she should apologise.

She said she did not know she could have spoken at the county council meeting and that if she had known she would have done so.

“I do not accept the amendment,” she said. “I will stick with what I have said.”

Both Mr Peter Harris (Lib Dem) and Mr David Payne (Con) said that they did not know that district councillors could speak at county council planning committees.

Mr Harris said there had been several contentious issues in his area which, if he had known he could, he would have liked to speak on.