Parish Councillor Vendetta

Question

Two of our parish councillors keep raising issues concerning a former friend and neighbour of theirs. I'm tired of council time being wasted on this petty dispute. Most of the issues are baseless and I feel they are bringing the council into disrepute. What, if anything, can I do about it?

Answer 1

Are these councillors raising the issues during council meetings?  If so, there needs to be an agenda item to discuss it and if there isn't the Chair and or Clerk could stop the discussion on those grounds.  If the dispute is between the councillors and the neighbour then really, it is not the council's business to discuss or to get involved with.  If it is directly connected to the council, then the Clerk should take charge and deal with it from that point onwards.

Another thing to consider - if it is a legal issue against the council, it needs to be discussed in closed session and the neighbour could have grounds for litigation if their dispute with individual councillors is being discussed in a public meeting.

More information is needed as to the nature of the dispute before any concrete advice could be given.

Comments

It is not the dispute that is being discussed. The councillors are claiming that they have had complaints from parishioners that the neighbour's property is untidy, or in a state of disrepair. I believe they are having these put on the agenda to be vexatious as the claims are untrue. They are also trying to restrict access to parish land in a way that will restrict the neighbour's access to his property.

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If you believe the members actions are designed to cause alarm and distress then it might be worthwhile reporting their conduct to the local authority monitoring officer.

Answer 2

The Principal authority should deal with claims of an untidy property or one in a bad state of repair.  The Parish Councillors should have been advised to forward any complaints to the Principal authority who could decide whether or not to serve a section 215 notice.