Oxford City Countil Cabinet have dropped Bertie Park from the agenda for their June 12th meeting. They don’t want to rock the boat in the run up to the general election.
Government guidance (here) is that councils should “not publish any material which, in whole or in part, appears to be designed to affect public support for a political party.” The big test is “could a reasonable person conclude that you are spending public money to influence the outcome of the election?”
This means that “councils are allowed to continue with normal business, including determining planning applications, even if they are controversial.”
Deciding whether to appropriate Bertie Park is not a game of politics, but a matter of law. If the cabinet decides that it is unable to meet the conditions set out in section 122 of the 1972 Local Government Act, this will not be controversial, but embarrassing.
New date July 10th.
Save Bertie Park Oxford 
Good grief!
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