IN RESPONSE to your article “Council in dark on beach hut ‘costs’” (Daily Echo July 14, 2016) – also appearing online as “Council leader ‘has not read’ beach hut contract – and doesn’t know cost of withdrawing from TV deal” – I would like to explain the system by which Christchurch council makes its decisions.

No councillor has individual authority for making policy decisions or committing the council to legal agreements; they must be made by a properly convened committee.

Executive decisions made by committees are then put into operation by officers of the council.

In the case of the project for a competition for beach huts at Highcliffe, decisions to go ahead were made by the Community Services Committee of November, 18 2015 and subsequently the Resources Committee of December 2, 2015.

A contract was then drawn up between Plum Pictures and the council’s legal officers and was signed by me, as one of the officers who has been given authority by the council to sign legal agreements.

There was no requirement for Cllr Nottage to sign the contract, or even see it, as the decision had been made by committees and responsibility to sign the contract is delegated to me.

I trust that puts the matter straight.

DAVID MCINTOSH

Chief executive, Christchurch Borough Council

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