A St Albans district councillor has quit the ruling Liberal Democrat group and criticised its approach to Harpenden parking charges.
Dason Canning, who represents Harpenden East ward, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the Lib Dem group had not “operated in an open or democratic manner” on key issues including parking charges and the Local Plan.
He said there had been an attempt to remove him from the group due to his opposition to the introduction of parking charges, and believes “punitive” action was taken to remove him from council committees after that attempt failed.
“Decisions have been driven by a small leadership group, with limited opportunity for discussion or challenge and little appetite within the party for challenge and debate,” he said.
Cllr Canning, who will now sit as an independent councillor in the Green and Independent group, added he had also seen “attempts to remove other councillors from the party”, and raised concerns about “the gap between what is said publicly and what is actually done”.
He described the parking charges as “imposed from the top down without properly listening to residents”, and suggested they contradicted Lib Dem claims to support Harpenden’s High Street.
Cllr Canning also took aim at the Lib Dem handling of the Local Plan – the blueprint for future development in the area – which is currently awaiting approval from the planning inspectorate.
He said the plan was “rushed through”, failed to “adequately account for the correct number of houses” required under recent government reforms, and could “result in many more ad-hoc housing development applications throughout the district on important green belt land”.
The Local Plan includes sites for 14,603 new homes between 2024 and 2041, in line with the previous government target. The council sped up its submission process with the aim of having the plan approved before a higher target proposed by the new Labour government is implemented.
Cllr Canning added that the Lib Dem group “consistently fail to adequately scrutinise the Local Plan and new development applications at committee”.
The council’s Liberal Democrat leader, Paul de Kort, said he was “surprised” by Cllr Canning’s comments and pointed out that he had backed both this year’s council budget – which includes income from Harpenden parking charges – and the Local Plan.
Cllr de Kort said it was “plain and objectively wrong” to suggest that the updated housing targets had taken the council “by surprise”.
“The additional numbers imposed by the Labour Government … were a key factor in our move to submit when we did,” he said.
“Our Local Plan is now almost through the inspection process, and none of its major site allocations look at all likely to be changed, so there is no basis at all in his claim that the plan was rushed.
“Our plan will finally help to push back on the speculative development that concerns all residents across the district.”
He added: “It is always important to raise concerns and questions of local residents, which is what Liberal Democrat councillors do,” the council leader added.
Cllr Canning, first elected to St Albans City & District Council in 2022, has been welcomed into the Green and Independent group by its leader, Simon Grover.
Cllr Grover said he was “delighted” to be joined by Cllr Canning, and continued: “Dason is a committed and thoughtful councillor, dedicated to serving his residents and the city and district, above and beyond anything else.
“He will be a valuable member of our growing group, and I very much look forward to working with him more closely.”
The council is now made up of 43 Liberal Democrats, four Conservatives, three Greens, two Labour representatives and two independents, with two vacancies. Both independents sit within the Green and Independent group.
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