Alan Draper, Independent Hemsworth Town Council: Well and Truly Caught Red Handed?

Some while ago, Ferret readers will recall the disastrous and dangerous car park that was created in between Fitzwilliam Primary School and the Hemsworth Town Council owned allotment site.

It’s creation was clouded with lie after lie on the pretext of creating a parking area for the school.

As everyone else but Hemsworth Town Council know, cars are being discouraged from school entrances for safety reasons and more surprisingly, the school hadn’t actually asked for it.

The car park couldn’t actually have been created without Hemsworth Town Council relocating the boundary fence to the allotment site therefore reducing its size.

This posed no problems because up popped Alan Draper, the now discredited Hemsworth Town Council Town Clerk, who authorised the repositioning of the fence and said it was done as an operational decision by him, as the council had never owned that land and it was important to have the fence in its rightful position.

Ferret has reported on this before but for some reason no action has been taken against Mr Draper or to relocate the Fence back to its correct boundary position where it had stood for over 23 years to ensure the children’s safety.

The definitive proof (all photographs courtesy of Google Earth)

Here is the position in 1999

Here is the position in 2009

Here is the position in 2019

Here is the position of the fence after relocating by Alan Draper’s “operational decision”

Mr Draper’s claim that Hemsworth Town Council did not own the enclosed land is completely and utterly destroyed by the land registry deeds which completely confirm the fences original position was the correct one.

There was clearly no valid legal “operational decision” needing to be made to re-site the boundary fence.

It is hard to imagine that Mr Draper didn’t know this or even harder to believe he wouldn’t have checked before taking such a decision.

The question must be asked why he behaved in such a reckless and irresponsible course of action with community assets he is supposed to protect?

Who would gain?

The school did not ask for a car park to endanger it’s pupils.

The car park itself was created in a shoddy and substandard way that created hazards for anyone walking on it.

So, why Mr Draper did you do it?

Who would really gain from your actions?

Possibly the owner of the land to the rear or any potential developer as the land is now highway accessible for Planning development purposes?

Ferret has two final questions to all the Councillors on Hemsworth Town Council, regardless of cabal membership or their political persuasion:

For the sake of the children’s and pedestrians safety, when are you going to return the fence to it’s proper boundary?

When are you going to start an investigation into the conduct of Alan Draper who has already admitted he made this decision and reassert your authority over an employee?

Oh and one for Mr Draper, as you have stated it is correct to have the proper boundaries around council properties:

Are you now going to shift it back and resign as a matter of principle, you’ll find them against the door of your office where you have said you leave them.

Alan Draper, Independent Hemsworth Town Council: Well and Truly Caught Red Handed?

Bang to rights as the police may say...