Councillor apologises over "storm in a tea cup"

Tory councillor Andrew Rowles was told to write the letter of apology to council chairman Geoff Findlay, after calling in the proposal for consideration by the western area planning committee in July 2006 but failing to declare that the applicant was his friend, former councillor David Liddiard.

Mr Liddiard, who has Parkinson"s disease, had sought permission to build an annex for a carer at his Upper Denford home and last year submitted an application for the 2006 planning conditions to be changed.

Following last year"s submission Cllr Rowles declared his interest, prompting one of Mr Liddiard"s neighbours to lodge a formal complaint that he failed to do the same two years previously and therefore had abused his position.

Cllr Rowles said: 'David was a former councillor so we all knew him and declared as such, and I thought that was sufficient, but they deemed that I knew him more than the others because we have lived in the same area all our lives. What is a friend? He is a close acquaintancs.

'The planning officers were against the proposal, so I called it in because he is my ward member and everyone has a right to have their application discussed in an open committee.

'This is a storm in a tea cup. What makes me cross is I still don"t think I did anything wrong.'

Following the complaint against Cllr Rowles, who represents Kintbury, an external investigator was asked to compile a report for the Standards Committee, which found he had failed to declare an interest and as such broke the council"s Code of Conduct.

But the committee also said Cllr Rowles 'did not use his position improperly to confer an advantage for the application without any proper reasons' and 'did not bring his office or authority into disrepute by his actions'.

Cllr Rowles added: 'What annoys me is the council have to get an external investigator to look to the complaint and that costs money - the complainant didn"t event turn up to the hearing.'