Bumper year for councillors’ misdeeds

Town and village leaders in Herefordshire have been given slaps on the wrist for, among other things, sending abusive emails, shouting at the chair of a meeting, and trying to discredit a clerk.

This is according to the county’s official list of decisions on complaints against councillors, of which there have been an unusually high number over past six months.

Herefordshire Council’s monitoring officer, assisted by external appointees, is required to investigate alleged breaches by parish, town or county councillors of their authorities’ codes of conduct.

The current online record of the officer’s decisions against councillors goes back four years, with four such decisions in each of 2018, 2019 and 2020, and two in 2021.

However so far this this year there have already been seven such decisions – namely:

A decision of February 18 found that Pencombe parish councillor Colin Hadley had breached the council’s code of conduct in that he had failed to declare a family interest in a planning application. He was told to submit an up-to-date declaration of interest form within 28 days.

But a further complaint that the parish council had failed to investigate the matter was dismissed as “outside of the jurisdiction of Herefordshire Council”.

A decision also of February 18 found that Weston under Penyard parish councillor John Smart’s behaviour during a site visit regarding a gate had been “bullying and misogynistic” towards a resident.

“It is clear that both parties felt insulted and criticised by each other during this meeting,” the decision said, but concluded that Coun Smart had not met his obligation to “treat members of the public with respect”.

Coun Smart had resigned from the parish council by the time of the decision.

Another decision of February 18 found that Belmont Rural parish councillor Desiree Parish’s language had been “less than temperate and verged on being abusive and personal” during an email exchange with a resident over a footpath the previous October.

“I would advise Councillor Parish not to make personal comments about members of the public or councillors in correspondence,” the decision said.

Again on February 18, the monitoring officer found Madley parish councillor Nick Hiscutt-Blackmore had also made “statements of a personal nature which showed lack of respect to the complainant” in emails. He was told to provide the complainant with a written apology. The councillor had also since “rectified” a failure to submit a declaration of interest form.

A decision dated April 28 found Holmer and Shelwick parish councillor John Phipps had breached the parish’s code of conduct in making public the then parish clerk’s pay, “in attempt to discredit them”. He to was told to apologise in writing to the complainant.

According to a decision of May 31, Coun Jon Preece of Leominster Town Council “had not been truthful” in that he had claimed at a February meeting of the town’s highways and planning committee to have opposed a planning application first brought before the committee the previous November which he had in fact supported.

Coun Preece has since resigned his Leominster North ward position.

In a decision of June 20, Callow and Haywood parish councillor Anthony Priddle was found to have emailed all fellow councillors, in the BCC email field, apart from one, the complainant’s husband, regarding a planning application put forward by the complainant.

“This is considered to be contrary to the principles of integrity, openness and honesty,” the decision said.

Coun Priddle was also found to have shouted at the council chair over the same “contentious” planning application – “although it is acknowledged that the subject member then apologised”.