St Helens | Archive | 2006 | June | 22
From the archive, first published Thursday 22nd Jun 2006.
ONE councillor has been suspended and another censured for failing to declare their personal interests over the proposed development of a massive freight terminal.
Newton Lib Dems Neil Taylor has been suspended for one month and Peter Astbury has been censured after an investigation found they had broken the councillors' code of conduct regarding the future planning application for Parkside Colliery in Newton. The allegations stemmed from a council meeting in July last year at which Parkside was discussed and where both spoke without declaring their interests.
Both denied allegations that they were leading members of an organisation opposed to the development, which the report upheld, however, Cllr Astbury was found to be a prominent campaigner against the proposals. Cllr Taylor was found to be in breach of the code after failing to declare at the meeting that he owned a house on Banastre Drive, which backs onto the Parkside site.
Council leader Brian Spencer stressed that neither have been suspended from the party, but while confirming that a complaint had been made by a Labour councillor he said it would be inappropriate to comment further as the matter was subject to appeal.
St Helens North MP Dave Watts, who has been quick to criticise the new political regime in the town is calling for a full review of the current planning procedures, saying that under current legislation, councillors must not predetermine any planning application and they should declare their own interest in any application in which they have a personal interest.
He added: "It is clear from the council's own investigations that Liberal Democrats are failing to declare their personal interest and their recent comments will in my view make it very difficult for them to take a balanced view of this important application.
"The big question is did council officers provide advice on this matter to all members of council and did any of the councillors choose to ignore that advice? I have written to the chief executive to ask her to carry out a full investigation into the reasons why some members of the council failed to declare their personal interest in line with the council's code of practice. I have also asked her to investigate whether any members' public statements or decisions have created a situation where they would be unable to judge the application on its individual merits."
A council spokesman confirmed: "Both councillors are also required to make a public apology and undergo training in respect of the code of conduct."
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