Councillor 'broke code of conduct' in planning vote

A councillor broke an authority's code of conduct over his involvement in a vote for new homes, a panel has found.

Wayne Smith faced a standards panel at Wokingham Borough Council last week after a resident complained of his conduct during a planning committee meeting in February last year.

During the meeting members voted against a plan for 23 new homes in Hurst.

But an investigation found that he should not have participated in the vote, and that he had not declared his interest on the matter correctly.

Mr Smith represented Hurst for two decades but has since been elected to the Thames ward following boundary changes in May.

The Conservative was also a member of Hurst Parish Council and chaired a meeting where members unanimously decided to object to the scheme ahead of a vote at the borough-level.

But he did not explicitly mention this when declaring an interest at the planning committee.

A member must declare an interest in a matter when the decision would affect them personally or professionally.

The investigation was carried out by Neil Allen, head of legal services at the borough council.

The standards panel, which was held in private, agreed with his findings, saying he "should have declared an interest relating to his attendance at the meeting which approved the objection", and that he had submitted the objection to the borough council.

It said "consequently" he should not have taken part in the subsequent decision.

The council's monitoring officer will arrange training for Mr Smith, and the panel recommended that all councillors be given guidance.

But Mr Smith said Mr Allen's report "mis-stated" the facts of the case.

He said he did not write the parish council's objection to the scheme, but forwarded it on behalf of the parish clerk who was unwell.

He said he also sought legal advice before the planning meeting, advice Mr Allen's report said was incorrect.

You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.