A LEADING councillor has rejected calls for him to resign after he brought his role and the council into ‘disrepute’.
The Maidenhead Liberal Democrats have urged council leader Andrew Johnson (Con: Hurley & Walthams) to fire Cllr Ross McWilliams (Con: Cox Green), lead member for housing opportunity, from his cabinet.
Cllr McWilliams was found to have brought his role and the council into disrepute following a controversial planning meeting last November. He and his fellow Conservative councillors approved plans to build 80 homes on Deerswood Meadow despite flooding fears and its impact on open space land.
However, Cllr McWilliams, who resigned from the planning panel in January, did not declare he worked for a public relations company called BECG, for which CALA Homes is a client.
Twenty complaints were submitted, alleging he damaged public confidence in the planning process for failing to declare this at the meeting. An independent investigating officer and a member standard sub-committee agreed he brought his role and the council into disrepute.
No sanctions were imposed, believing his actions were “likely a result of his passion and enthusiasm for the expansion of affordable housing provision in the borough (rather than intentional deceit).”
Cllr McWilliams maintained he acted in accordance with the law and the council’s policy but respected the findings.
READ MORE: Maidenhead councillor brought disrepute to council
In a statement, the Maidenhead Liberal Democrats said: “Cllr Johnson has a decision to make. He must either accept the verdict and dismiss Cllr McWilliams or admit that his administration thinks it appropriate to cede huge influence on a person who has, and therefore must continue to, damage the reputation of our Royal Borough.”
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Cllr McWilliams said he resigned from the Maidenhead planning panel in January and regretted any impact his actions may have had on the public’s confidence in the planning process.
However, he rejected calls to stand down from his cabinet responsibilities.
He said: “They [the sub-committee] have said that I what did was not deceitful or had malevolent intent. It was actually done because of my enthusiasm and passion for expanding affordable housing.
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“Over the past few years from all the work we’ve done to support our rough sleepers, to getting our local plan adopted, and trying to drive up the number of council-owned homes, is something I’m going to keep pushing on.
“I’ve done that for the last few years, and we’ve made a lot of progress.”
He added: “There’s a huge amount to do and I’m still very passionate and enthusiastic about doing it. I am pleased with the decision notice; this matter has come to an end.”
Cllr Johnson was contacted for comment.
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