An Angus councillor has been banned from the area’s planning committee for a month after being reported to the Standards Commission by a prominent local businessman.
Montrose member Bill Duff was found to have breached the councillors’ code of conduct with comments the watchdog said were “disrespectful and dismissive” to Forfar housebuilder Mark Guild.
A hearing panel in Forfar ruled Mr Duff hadn’t met the requirement to act fairly and be seen to be acting fairly when discussing quasi-judicial matters such as planning applications.
Edzell housing row
In May 2021, Mr Guild said he would be reporting Mr Duff to the Standards Commission over comments made during a debate on the future of Inglis Court in Edzell.
The council decided to demolish the former sheltered housing complex to make way for a £3.5 million development of affordable homes.
And in a heated meeting, Mr Duff clashed with the businessman over the veracity of a village survey conducted by Guild Homes which returned a 95% response in favour of retaining the houses.
A fellow councillor said Mr Duff had shown a “lack of respect” towards Mr Guild by suggesting the survey had been skewed.
The Inglis Court issue was one of several raised by Mr Guild with the commission.
Breach of Councillors’ Code
Hearing panel chairwoman Suzanne Vestri said: “The panel found that Cllr Duff was disrespectful and dismissive of a member of the public when a planning application that the individual opposed was being discussed at a council committee meeting.
“In doing so, the panel found that Cllr Duff failed to comply with the requirement in the Code to refrain from demonstrating bias, or to do anything that could be reasonably perceived as demonstrating bias, when making decisions on quasi-judicial matters.”
It said that while Mr Duff’s decision on the planning matter may have been made solely on the merits of the application, it would be reasonable for a member of the public watching the meeting to conclude that his view on Mr Guild or his conduct may have got in the way of approaching the matter with an open mind.
But it said Mr Duff had co-operated fully with the investigative and hearing process.
And it noted his “contribution to public life and to his community” in deciding the punishment.
Ms Vestri added: “The Panel emphasised that the requirement for councillors to act fairly and without bias and to be seen to be acting fairly and without bias when determining planning applications, is a fundamental requirement of the Code.
“A failure to comply with this provision can erode public confidence in elected members, damage the reputation of the council itself, and potentially leave the council open to legal challenge.”
A detailed report on the hearing, held at Angus House council HQ in Forfar, is due to be released soon.
‘Personal attack’
Mr Guild said: “I find it wholly unacceptable for an elected member to be attacking myself and my company in a council meeting without a right to reply.
“It’s a sad day for democracy when someone elected to represent the public uses the role to mount a personal attack on them.”
Mr Duff, who is the Angus SNP administration’s finance spokesman, declined to comment on the outcome at this stage.
The month-long ban means he will miss just one meeting of the council’s development standards committee, scheduled for November 15.
It is not known if the sanction affects his participation in the area’s development management review committee, which he chairs.
It is due to meet on Tuesday to consider Angus farmer Guthrie Batchelor’s appeal against a refusal for permission to build a crematorium at Duntrune.
Bridie row
Mr Duff is no stranger to local controversy.
In 2018, the Montrose figure landed in trouble with fans of the Forfar Bridie.
In a social media post he described the famous savoury as a “low quality processed meat product”.
He said it wasn’t fit to feature in a proposed Angus food culture hub.
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