Hadleigh town councillors have agreed to award Alicja Barnes another contract, this time to work on the council's Neighbourhood Plan. Councillors voted unanimously to award Ms Barnes the contract at a meeting of the Planning Committee earlier this week.

No other suppliers appeared to have been considered. 

Ms Barnes is the council's Project Officer and Responsible Finance Officer, but is leaving that post today (29 February). The contract will cover her continuing to work on the Neighbourhood Plan at a cost of £20 per hour for an unspecified period. 

The contract is in addition to one awarded by the council to Ms Barnes' company 12 Magpies Accountancy at a controversial meeting earlier this month. Ms Barnes' link to 12 Magpies Accountancy was apparently withheld from some councillors and the public when the decision was made. No other suppliers were considered at the meeting. The news, broken in a Hadleigh Nub News exclusive, that 12 Magpies Accountancy was owned by Ms Barnes sparked public shock and outrage.

For the Neighbourhood Plan contract, Ms Barnes' identity was not hidden. However, it is not clear how the proposal came before the Planning Committee. A member of the public asked who had brought the motion forward and written the background report, neither of which were attributed. The Chair, Cllr Bill Wilson, declined to say. 

The background report says: "Hadleigh Town Council were fortunate to have Alicja working on this to this stage and she spent much time researching and learning the regulations and stages of a Neighbourhood Plan, building up the working group and a rapport with the consultant. Her knowledge of Hadleigh's Neighbourhood Plan is unparallelled and would not be able to be learned quickly by any other member of staff. Nor do any other staff have the capacity or skillset to take on this task." 

It goes on to say: "It is hoped that there may only be 20 or so hours of work remaining…". However, the committee did not agree to a limit on the spend.

Cllr Rolf Beggerow said the background report "clarified significantly" some questions that he had. He said that in his view it was not extra expenditure, but could lead to a saving of expenditure. 

Cllr Peter Gower said: "Under the circumstances this seems to be the most appropriate and cost-efficient solution to completing this project. Any alternative proposal would set back the project, waste the time and money already spent, and lose the depth of experience and knowledge that has already been acquired."

Hadleigh Nub News has asked the council if it plans to recruit to fill the vacant role. So far, the council has not responded.