THE SON of a councillor has been granted permission to add a balcony to the front of his father’s property – but not before a personal interest in the venture was revealed.
Mohammed Hussain, son of Conservative Cllr Mahboob Hussain, received permission from his father’s colleagues to install a first-floor terrace to the front of the family property on Mendip Way, in High Wycombe, on October 13.
But one member present at the West Buckinghamshire Area Planning Committee asked whether councillors should declare their own interest in the matter because Cllr Hussain is a co-worker.
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“This is tongue-in-cheek,” said Conservative Cllr Sarfaraz Raja. “But do we have to declare our interest then – if it’s a councillor?”
Cllr Raja could be seen in the webcast meeting grimacing and then smiling after his question.
Democratic services officer Liz Hornby replied: “You could, if you wished to, make a declaration but I would have to do that for all the committee members because obviously you are all colleagues and if that’s the way you’d like to go I can do that.”
Moments later, Labour Cllr Mohammed Asif chimed in: “I just need to declare the councillor is the uncle to my wife so I will be abstaining from the vote.”
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Conservative Cllrs Marten Clarke and Nigel Teesdale urged members to grant the application permission, which they did.
Mr Hussain junior wishes to attach a first-floor level, bedroom balcony “on stilts”, to the front of the Wycombe terrace belonging to his father.
Although there are no such balconies in the immediate area, the application is considered “acceptable in principle” and will “not detrimentally harm the character of the area”, according to council documents.
The property had in the early 00s a two-storey front extension. A dormer window and loft conversion has also been permitted.
The property also has parking for four vehicles, according to the report.
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