Now! Then! 2024! - Yorkshire On This Day

Excerpt

John Foers, aged 62, a Bradford city councillor, who wanted planning permission to build houses on his five acres of land, offered the city’s deputy lord mayor a “bob or two” in the council chamber, it was alleged at Leeds Crown Court. Mr Foers, a councillor for the Thornton Ward of Bradford since 1966, was alleged to have said to Councillor Garfield Rawnsley, chairman of the planning and parks executive committee: “I don’t want to Poulson you, but if this application gets through there will be bob or two in it for yourself.” Mr Foers, a smallholder, of Brighouse and Denholme Road, Bradford, pleaded not guilty to a charge of corruption. Mr Geoffrey Rivlin, for the prosecution, said that for several years Mr Foers had wanted to build houses on his land in Thornton, but in 1962 he was refused planning permission because of the isolation and drainage difficulties. Last June, after approaching the city development officer, Mr Foers was advised to put in another application for outline planning permission, which he did. In the council chamber in July, just before a council meeting, Mr Foers caught Councillor Rawnsley, a telephone engineer, by the arm, took him to a quiet corner and told him of his plans. After the offer of a “bob or two” Mr Rawnsley had told him to stop there and to submit his application for consideration on merit. At a later meeting Mr Foers told Mr Rawnsley: “I did not mean anything wrong. I simply meant that if the application went through we would have a celebration.” [Guilty of corruption: six months suspended, banned from public office for five years.]

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To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.

Abbreviations:

• ER: East Riding
• GM: Greater Manchester
• NR: North Riding
• NY: North Yorkshire
• SY: South Yorkshire
• WR: West Riding
• WY: West Yorkshire

Comment

Comment

Verdict. The Yorkshire Post may specify the date of the meeting in question. “Good God, Gary, don’t think I am trying to Poulson you!“

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Original

Councillor’s alleged offer of ‘a bob or two’
From Our Correspondent
Leeds, March 11
John Foers, aged 62, a Bradford city councillor, who wanted planning permission to build houses on his five acres of land, offered the city’s deputy lord mayor a “bob or two” in the council chamber, it was alleged at Leeds Crown Court today.
Mr Foers, a councillor for the Thornton Ward of Bradford since 1966, was alleged to have said to Councillor Garfield Rawnsley, chairman of the planning and parks executive committee: “I don’t want to Poulson you, but if this application gets through there will be bob or two in it for yourself.”
Mr Foers, a smallholder, of Brighouse and Denholme Road, Bradford, pleaded not guilty to a charge of corruption.
Mr Geoffrey Rivlin for the prosecution, said that for several years Mr Foers had wanted to build houses on his land in Thornton, but in 1962 he was refused planning permission because of the isolation and drainage difficulties.
Last June, after approaching the city development officer, Mr Foers was advised to put in another application for outline planning permission, which he did.
In the council chamber in July, just before a council meeting, Mr Rivlin said that Mr Foers caught Councillor Rawnsley, a telephone engineer, by the arm, took him to a quiet corner and told him of his plans.
After the offer of a “bob or two” Mr Rawnsley had told him to stop there and to submit his application for consideration on merit.
At a later meeting, Mr Rivlin said, Mr Foers told Mr Rawnsley: “I did not mean anything wrong. I simply meant that if the application went through we would have a celebration.” The trial continues tomorrow.

298 words.

Tags

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• 📌Bradford (72) ·
• Bribery (5) ·
• Corruption in local government (6) ·
• Corruption (11) ·
• Crown Court (1) ·
• Home construction (3) ·
• John Poulson (2) ·
• Leeds Town Hall (15) ·
• 📌Leeds (235) ·
• Real estate development (1) ·
• Thornton, West Yorkshire (5) ·

All tags.

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