Council leader fined for 'abuse of position'
THE leader of New Forest District Council has fined himself £250 after a six-month probe found he abused his position by trying to alter plans for houses near his Milford on Sea home.
The Standards Board for England found councillor Mel Kendal met developers in a bid to influence their plans for land near his home in Castle Close. The developers, understood to be Parkcrest Construction Ltd, then submitted amended plans to the council.
An unnamed complainant accused Mr Kendal of misusing his position to gain an advantage for himself, and of acting in a way that brought his office or authority into disrepute.
After an investigation, an ethical standards officer found it was improper for Mr Kendal - who had a personal and prejudicial interest in the application because he lived near the proposed site - to meet the developers, particularly as leader of the council.
The officer concluded Mr Kendal had breached the council's code of conduct by "using his position improperly to secure an advantage for himself or others".
In a further embarrassment to the council, it emerged that Mr Kendal had acted on the advice of the chief executive David Yates, who had consulted monitoring officer Grainne O'Rourke.
However, the standards officer found Mr Kendal's motives were not improper and he had not "brought his office or authority into disrepute". The officer ruled no action needed to be taken.
Mr Kendal decided to dock £250 from his £17,283 allowance and pay it to a local charity to show he took the code and his "inadvertent" breach of it seriously.
In a statement, he pointed out that the probe found no evidence he sought to influence planners and that by declaring his interests when the development was considered he had acted within the code.
Mr Kendal was not a member of the planning committee.
He insisted: "I remain implacably opposed to over-development and cramming being caused by the government's high minimum density standards, and will continue to speak out against developments which harm the character of our villages in this way, be it near our streets in Milford or anywhere else in the New Forest."
Lib Dem opposition leader Alan Weeks said he was not sure the "fine" was enough and added: "I think Mr Kendal should consider his position very carefully."
Source: ThisIsWiltshire (09/01/2007)
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