Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chairman for the forthcoming year.

It was,

Resolved:

To elect Councillor Ruth Hopkinson as Chairman for the forthcoming year.

To elect a Vice-Chairman for the forthcoming year.

It was,

Resolved:

To elect Councillor Ernie Clark as Vice-Chairman for the forthcoming year.

To receive any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

Apologies were received from Councillor Ernie Clark.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 22 April 2021.

The minutes of the meeting held on 22 April 2021 were presented for consideration, and it was,

Resolved:

To approve and sign the minutes as a true and correct record.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests, or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations.

To note the procedure and assessment criteria for the meeting.

The meeting procedure and assessment criteria were noted.

To consider passing the following resolution:

To agree that in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the public from the meeting for the business specified in Agenda Item Number 8, because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information to the public.

Paragraph 1 - information relating to an individual

It was,

Resolved:

To agree that in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the public from the meeting for the business specified in Agenda Item Number 8, because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information to the public

Preamble

A complaint was received from Miles and Katie Elderfield (the Complainants) regarding the conduct of Councillor Clive Boyes (the Subject Member) of Stert Parish Council.

The complaint involved a series of alleged actions by the Subject Member toward the Complainants from the beginning of their ownership of land within Stert, particularly regarding their plans for the land. They alleged the Subject Member had engaged in bullying and harassing behaviour including trespass, beyond regular actions in respect of planning and enforcement disputes. They had also raised issues with and regarding the parish council, which the Subject Member chairs.

The Subject Member contended that they had sought only to represent the views of residents and rejected characterisation of his actions, including taking photos of sites and representing views objecting to plans for the land in question, as being capable of breaching the Code of Conduct.

Assessment

The Sub-Committee were satisfied that the initial tests of the assessment criteria had been met, including that the Subject Member was and remains a member of Stert  Parish Council, that a copy of the relevant Code of Conduct was provided for the assessment, and that they were acting in their capacity as a Member during the various alleged actions.

The Sub-Committee therefore had to decide whether the alleged behaviour would, if proven, amount to a breach of that Code of Conduct. If the Sub-Committee concluded that the alleged behaviour would amount to a breach, then it would have to go on to decide whether it was appropriate under the assessment criteria to refer the matter for investigation.

In reaching its decision, the Sub-Committee took into account the original complaint and supporting information, the response of the Subject Member, and the report of the Monitoring Officer.

The Sub-Committee also considered verbal statements from both the Complainants and the Subject Member provided at the Assessment Sub-Committee meeting.

Conclusion

From the submissions it was apparent that after an initial period of engagement between the parties around the issues raised, there had been a breakdown in the relationship, which had at times had become antagonistic. The Sub-Committee considered whether any of the individual alleged actions or taken together, rose to a level which, if proven, would amount to a breach of the Code.

Some of the allegations such as those involving minutes publication and detail related to actions of the parish council as a body rather than the Subject Member personally, which would not be a matter for the Sub-Committee.

The allegations had principally arisen following a dispute involving use of land by the Complainants, which was objected to by some others in the community, and which the Subject Member had responded to in a number of ways. The Sub-Committee considered that whilst some of those actions in furtherance of looking into planning or enforcement matters may not have been advisable, or taken account of their impact on the Complainants in how they were conducted, none individually or taken together rose to a level of a breach under  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.