Winchester City Council set for crunch leadership vote after Rob Humby's resignation

Councillors will elect a new leader at a crunch Guildhall meeting from 7pm.

Conservative boss Cllr Humby stepped down on Tuesday amid fallout from a High Court ruling which said the council acted unlawfully over the £165 million development.

A new cabinet is expected to be appointed by the new leader.

LIVE: Visit hampshirechronicle.co.uk from 6pm for updates, pictures and reaction from the meeting

In a statement published on Tuesday afternoon, Cllr Humby said: "I have come to the conclusion that the time has now come for me to step aside.

"I stand by the decisions I and the cabinet made on Silver Hill. They were taken after consulting with officers and taking external legal advice.

“I think it is also important to remember that the majority of decisions on Silver Hill were taken long before I was leader.

MORE ON THE SILVER HILL FALLOUT

Committee chairman resigns after losing colleagues' support over scrutiny of plans
Last week: Silver Hill Four defy calls to step down after damning legal ruling
Justice Lang: council unlawfully allowed "radical changes" to city centre scheme

"Nevertheless,” he said, “I was leader when the court decision was handed down and so must take responsibility for that judgement.

Last week’s damning ruling said that the council acted unlawfully by allowing “radical changes” – dropping a bus station and 100 affordable flats – without inviting bids from other developers.

It also criticised the decision in 2004 - led by the Liberal Democrats - to grant an exclusivity agreement with previous developer Thornfield.

A forgotten picture? The Silver Hill project has been thrown into turmoil by the High Court ruling

Lib Dem leadership nominee Kelsie Learney said Cllr Humby’s position had become “untenable”.

She said that her first priority if elected would be to kick-start an independent Silver Hill review.

“But the council has a great deal of other things to do,” she added, “like Station Approach, the leisure centre and budgetary problems.

“I think it’s really important that these don’t get forgotten in all the Silver Hill mess.

“There are certainly issues around major projects where they seem to be decisions made behind closed doors, with not much information coming into the public domain.”

A new leader will be elected by councillors at Winchester Guildhall from 7pm

Two votes of no confidence were planned for the meeting by opposition parties, threatening to overshadow crucial budget-setting talks.

Cllr Humby's resignation marks the second this week over the hugely controversial Silver Hill plans.

Labour group leader Chris Pines dramatically stood down as chairman of the overview and scrutiny committee on Monday, walking out of a Guildhall meeting after saying he had lost the support of colleagues over his examination of the project.

Local government secretary Eric Pickles has halted development while he decides whether to call-in the scheme.

Silver Hill campaigner Cllr Kim Gottlieb has urged chief executive Simon Eden, corporate director Steve Tilbury and head of estates Kevin Warren to step down. He criticised “misleading” advice given to councillors.

“I am genuinely sorry that things got to a point where Cllrs Humby and Pines had to resign,” Cllr Gottlieb said. “They are both decent men and did their best to serve this city.

“The problem they both faced is that, in respect of Silver Hill and, probably, other major projects such as the River Park Leisure Centre, they had to rely heavily on advice they received from senior officers which simply wasn’t good enough, and was sometimes misleading.”

Kim Gottlieb leads the Winchester Deserves Better campaign

Cllr Learney, who last week warned that the judgment pushes the city closer to a “financial cliff”, has said the Lib Dems will table a revised budget within months if elected.

Winchester MP Steve Brine said: "Rob Humby is a decent, honourable man and I think his measured statement shows that. This has to be used as an opportunity for the council to regenerate what is a fast deteriorating part of town in a way that, this time, takes many more of my constituents with them.

"I would urge all sides to put the personalities and the political games to one side and grab that opportunity with both hands for the sake of Winchester.”

What now?

The Liberal Democrats have nominated group leader Kelsie Learney (above) to replace Cllr Humby. The Conservatives were set to meet on Wednesday night to discuss their options but have yet to reveal their candidate.

Winchester City Council is run by minority Conservative administration, which can be out-voted by Lib Dem, Labour and independent councillors should they band together against it.

Rob Humby has resigned as leader of the local authority’s Tory party but is still an elected city councillor.

The Conservatives therefore still retain their 28 elected representatives.

The Liberal Democrats have 24 councillors, Labour three, plus two independent members.

Full council meeting is set to be held at the Guildhall's Walton Suite, beginning at 7pm.

Factfile: Rob Humby

COUNCILLOR Rob Humby was elected as leader of Winchester City Council in June last year.

He succeeded Cllr Keith Wood, who he had served as deputy for two years, before being appointed as leader of the Winchester Conservative party in March.

As well as leader he has sat on committees for local plan, traffic and parking and has been closely involved with economic development, planning and promoting tourism.

He represents Owslebury, Durley, Upham and Curdridge ward and has been a councillor for eight years. He also represents Bishop's Waltham at Hampshire County Council.

Married with three children, Cllr Humby comes from a background of small business, having previously run his successful plant nursery and engineering firm for nearly two decades.

Speaking after his appointment as leader in June, he said: “The public has put a lot of faith in the Conservative group and we must make sure that we live up to expectations. We need to produce results for the people of Winchester.”

Additional reporting by Charlotte Neal and Ali Kefford.