Councillor 'disrespectful to planning officer'

Philip Burford (centre) at his hearing, accompanied by fellow councillors

A councillor failed to treat a planning officer colleague with respect, a standards panel has concluded.

Philip Burford, from the Forest of Dean District Council in Gloucestershire, should not be allowed to chair any committees for three years, the authority's panel said.

At the hearing, Mr Burford faced two other allegations, which were also upheld –failure to declare an interest, and failure to act in accordance with the public trust placed in him.

The panel's recommendations will be taken to the full council on 13 November. Mr Burford told the panel he felt "extraordinarily let down" by senior council officers and that he didn't think any sanctions should be applied.

'Difficult relationship'

The nature of the complaints about the Independent councillor were discussed in a hearing behind closed doors but the findings were made public, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Gilmour Frew, who chaired the panel, accepted that there was a "difficult relationship" between Mr Burford and the planning officer in question.

He said there may have been "problematic behaviour on both sides".

However, he said the panel could not ignore the "large number of witnesses who corroborate the findings of fact".

In response to this complaint, Mr Burford said it was a "two way street" and he thought he had been "extremely tolerant of [the officer's] behaviour", who he said had kept "a file on my activities for eight years".

The panel found Mr Burford had breached the council's code of conduct.

The code's principles include acting in the interest of the public, honesty in declaring any private interests relating to their public duties, as well as treating others with respect.