Anyone go to the hearing the other day at the Purbeck House Hotel, about Councillor Wheeldon's conduct as a district councillor? I gather this is about using foul language (calling council officials f****** w ****** and a*******s) and also not declaring her official interest at private meetings.
--
Posted by Anonymous to swanage view at 11/12/2005 12:28:47 PM
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
4 comments:
It's all happening this week. Apparently Mr Agelink has been declared bankrupt, so will have to resign from the council.
Has there been anything in the local paper about Councillor Wheeldon and this hearing? Someone from the other side of Weymouth said they saw something in the paper down there. Perhaps it's not thought to be interesting enough to be printed locally?
ASBOs all round by the sounds of it. PDC and the parish council are both very keen on them for minor offences, like swearing and intimidation.
From the December edition of the Purbeck Gazette: Councillor Julia Wheeldon, a local member for Swanage South, has been under investigation by the Standards Board for England following allegations that she has breached Purbeck District Council’s Code of Conduct.
The findings of that investigation were heard on Tuesday 8 November 2005, at The Purbeck House Hotel, Swanage, by the Adjudication Panel for England, on behalf of the Standards Board.
The four charges brought against Councillor Wheeldon are:
1) Not treating others with respect;
2) Conducting herself in a manner that could be reasonably regarded as bringing the office or authority into disrepute;
3) Using her position as a member improperly to confer for herself or any other person, an advantage or disadvantage; and
4) Improperly influencing a decision about a matter in which she has a prejudicial interest.
Evidence was heard from Mike Goater, District Engineer, Brian Hawkins of the Belle Vue Residents Group and Julie Wheeldon.
The Panel heard that Councillor Wheeldon had been upset by the contents of the first draft of a report from High Point Rendel (HPR) when it was published in February 2003. They were told that on February 10th 2003, she entered Mike Goater’s office at Purbeck District Council and said that the report should be adjusted with all references to property values and to the Durlston Cliffs block of flats removed, her concern being that possible problems in obtaining insurance and mortgages would affect the values of the properties. It was alleged that she went on to say that if the HPR engineer thought that the landslip caused any risk to Durlston Cliffs, then he was a “f***ing w***er” and that if Mike Goater, also, thought that there was a risk to the property, then he too was a “f***ing w***er”.
It was further alleged that on August 18th 2003, after a meeting in Swanage Town Hall concerning the Swanage beach recharge scheme, she called Roger Garwood (the then PDC Environmental Services Manager) and Mike Goater aside and told them that she did not like what was in the second HPR report draft. The Panel was told that she was angry and called them both “a***holes”.
Julie Wheeldon denied using the alleged words and the use of bad language on the first occasion. With regard to the second, she denied that the meeting ever took place. With regards to the accusation of abuse of her position as a councillor in trying to get a report changed before it was formally published, she said that she was always acting as a resident of Durlston Cliffs except in Council meetings when she declared an interest.
With regard to the Belle Vue Action Group, she says that she met them as a resident. They said that they invited her to meet them because she was a District Councillor and they were desperate to get something done about the landslip of December 2000.
The panel have yet to consider written evidence before making their judgement. The hearing, which is open to the public, will be reconvened, possibly before Christmas.
Post a Comment