Ban on councillor contacting parish clerk goes to court

TAXPAYERS in Henley will have to cough up over £4,000 more than last year to their "dysfunctional" parish council whose action in banning one of its members from contacting the parish clerk is currently subject to a judicial review.

A 5.56 per cent increase in the council's budget was agreed at a meeting on Monday night at which both the council chairman, Cllr Les Goodman, and vice-chairman, Cllr Chris Milsom resigned in advance of the legal ruling.

The judicial review has been instigated by Cllr Bill Leech as a result of the council banning him from contacting parish clerk Jenny Walsh. The ban arose out of his campaign against the council administrative costs.

The resignations are the latest developments in a long-running dispute between Cllr Leech and the rest of the council. The council's difficulties in working together were investigated by Stratford District Council in 2011 when the parish council was described as "dysfunctional" at a meeting of the district council's standards and ethics committee.

At Monday's meeting there was standing room only as the Henley public packed into the Baptist Church Hall to see the council elect a new chairman and set its budget for 2013-14.

Cllr Roger Hubbocks was elected chairman over council newcomer, Cllr Mike Willmott. Cllr George Matheou was elected vice-chairman over Cllr Elaine Field. Chairman of Henley Independents, Cllr Willmott was first elected in a by-election last November but was disqualified after he failed to attend his first council meeting. He was then returned unopposed in a second by-election earlier this month.

The voting highlighted the deep division of the council with the four Independents voting together against the eight other councillors.

An irate Henley High Street resident, Sarah Cossey, berated them voting in their cliques. She said that at least the vice-chairman should be a Henley Independent to fairly represent the council, concluding: "Shame on you for letting Henley down yet again." This was met with applause from the public.

Before that, Cllr Goodman explained that he resigned over the judicial review into the council's treatment of Cllr Leech, currently sub judice, being considered by a judge at Birmingham Administrative Court.

Cllr Goodman said: "I obviously had great difficulty with that situation and leaving a meeting in December that did not leave me with a lot of hope, I had a difficult situation to consider.

I have spent Christmas and the New Year considering my position and I am therefore resigning as chairman."

But when he began to talk about the council's defence of the judicial review, his out-going speech was interrupted by Cllr Leech who told him that the matter was subjudice and should not be spoken about in a public meeting.

The council is requiring residents to fork out £82,412 for its 2013-14 budget, compared to the £78,070 budget for 2012-13, a 5.56 per cent increase for the 4,500 people of Henley and Beaudesert.

The four Henley Independents, particularly Cllr Elaine Field, questioned the need for such a hike considering the council will probably have around £45,000 in reserve at the end of the financial year.

Alluding to the judicial review, Cllr Matheou said: "In our case quite a lot of our reserves will disappear for something that we cannot talk about tonight."

Cllr Goodman announced the clerk's salary next year would be £23,450. This accounts for 27 per cent of the council's budget. He said: "The average costs [of salaries] for most parish councils is 64 per cent. We are well down as far as that is concerned."

He also defended the 5.56 per cent council tax increase, which will add £2,000 into the reserves.

Ms Walsh also pointed to income support cuts made by central government that were previously paid directly to parish councils. She said in 2013-14 these losses were being covered by Stratford District Council's council tax support grant—£9,070 for Henley—but warned that if the district council removed this service the year after, then the parish council would have to implement a 15 per cent tax rise in 2014-15 if there was no council tax increase this year.

Report by Matt Wilson, Stratford Herald 24th January 2012

Henley Independents Chairman comments

Dear Residents of Beaudesert and Henley, 

With all of the votes counted I am pleased to say we have partially succeeded in our goals. 5 of our 12 candidates have been elected to the Joint Parish Council. In Henley, the Independents polled more votes than the opposition. Unfortunately, 7 of our excellent candidates did not get elected but I thank them for their tireless work and commitment to our cause. We obviously don't have a majority on the JPC so we won't be able to carry out our manifesto pledges (reducing costs and bureaucracy, increasing transparency and listening more to what people want) without the support of other members of the JPC.

We do hope that those members of the JPC who have been re-elected will listen to what the voters of Henley and Beaudesert have said and will work with us to create a dynamic and functional JPC that really tries to cater to the needs of all the residents of our town. It is time to put the bickering and in-fighting that dogged the JPC behind us and move forwards as a whole. 

However, we do still firmly believe that the structure of the JPC with its myriad meetings is inefficient, expensive and intimidating. We remain committed to the concept of a streamlined JPC, with fewer meetings and substantially reduced costs - and that these cost savings can be used for the benefit of the town in the future. At least now we have 5 members of the JPC who can influence these decisions from within. 

Thanks once again to everyone who has supported us. 

 Mike Willmott - Chairman Henley Independents

JPC Election Results

Parish Council Elections - The Issues

On May 3rd, the residents of the parishes of Beaudesert and Henley will be given the opportunity to vote for a new Joint Parish Council (JPC). This is an important opportunity for the residents of Henley-in-Arden to have their voices heard, and it’s been a long time coming - the last time there were contested elections was on 4th May 2000 for Beaudesert and 2nd May 1996 for Henley-in-Arden. On May 3rd, there are 5 seats in Beaudesert and 7 seats in Henley to be contested.

Residents of Henley and Beaudesert who keep up to date with local news will be aware already of the back-biting and undemocratic processes that have tarnished the current JPC. These include the unpleasant slurs over the ‘Purple Shop’ (which eventually led to its proprietor closing and moving elsewhere) and the continued bitter and petty in-fighting with one of its own councillors which eventually led to Stratford District Council branding the JPC as dysfunctional, as well as costing taxpayers over £10,000 in various legal fees and associated costs. There are also numerous examples of supposedly public meetings and decisions being made behind closed doors. 

The JPC has been undemocratic, unsavoury and has sullied the reputation of Henley. For example, at the Stratford District Council Planning meeting on 9th March 2011, when the development of the cattle market was on the agenda, the then Chairman of the JPC, Cllr Les Goodman, told the planning committee that “The Parish Council, in principle, supports the application”. However, the Parish Council had not endorsed the scheme nor expressed any approval of the plans. Furthermore, 83% of the residents, in a properly conducted survey, had declared that they were against the planning application.

There have been other serious problems with the current JPC, which need to be highlighted, so that voters have the full facts. The most important thing the parish councillors do is to control the Precept. This is the element of your council tax, which is given to the JPC to spend on the parish. The Beaudesert and Henley JPC Precept is by far the largest of any mid-sized parish council in the Stratford area. The average is only £31,262. Tanworth in Arden, which has a larger population of 3,017 compared to Henley’s 2,930, has a precept of only £45,500 compared to Henley’s massive £78,000.

During the last few years, the amount of the budget that the JPC has spent on salaries and administration has rocketed to over 42%, which has left less to run the town and fund various good causes. The simple fact is that the JPC spends more money on salaries and administration than any other medium-sized parish council in the Stratford area. To camouflage this, the current JPC has been drawing money from its reserves. The Precept increased last year by 5%, at time when most Parish Councils aimed to keep their Precepts the same or in some cases reduced them. 

Then there is the question of where the Precept is spent. It does appear unfortunately that some groups have been favoured over others. 

Last year, the Youth Club requested a grant of £2,000 to help run the Hub but received NOTHING. Whereas, the Christmas Tree Lights, a group run by the previous chairman of the JPC, was given £3,000 and was the ONLY group applying for more than £300 to receive 100% of its request. 

Maybe it’s because the average age of the current JPC is well over 70 that the youth club had its grant application turned down!

Now, we can moan all we like about the current JPC – there is only one way to make a change and that is to vote in a new, younger and more representative team on May 3rd. So, fellow residents of Henley, you now have all the facts and you can now make a choice. Either vote for the Current JPC or vote for the 12 residents who are standing against them. Many will be voting for the Henley Independents and we urge you to do the same.

Despite the good intentions and commitment of the existing councillors,

if you Vote in the old parish councillors, you will get:-

• MORE OF THE SAME WASTE AND BEAURACRACY.
• MISINFORMATION ON IMPORTANT ISSUES SUCH AS GRANTS AND CROFT CAR PARK.
• A COUNCIL THAT FAILS TO SUPPORT LOCAL VOLUNTARY SERVICES LIKE THE HUB.
• A COUNCIL THAT HAS BEEN STYLED AS "DYSFUNCTIONAL" BY STRATFORD DISTRICT.
• A COUNCIL THAT IS INWARD LOOKING AND DEAF.

CURRENT JPC is:-

Wasteful, Bureaucratic, Unrepresentative, Inward Looking, Dysfunctional

if you Vote in the Henley Independents, you will get:-

• A COUNCIL THAT BELIEVES IN SIMPLICITY AND COST CONTROL.
• A COUNCIL THAT WILL SPEND MONEY WISELY ON LOCAL ISSUES.
• A COUNCIL THAT CAN BE MORE RESPONSIVE AND REPRESENTATIVE.
• A COUNCIL THAT WILL LISTEN, DISCUSS AND COMMUNICATE.

HENLEY INDEPENDENT are:-

Streamlined, Prudent, Transparent, Open, Responsive, Younger

 

Mike Willmott, Chairman of Henley Independents talks about the differences

Henley NEWS: Mr Willmott, we’ve seen Henley Independents candidates out canvassing, there are beermats in the pubs, flyers through our letterboxes, and adverts in Henley Focus – what is it all about?

Mike Willmott: Henley Independents is a collection of independent candidates who have come together as a group to contest the parish council elections on May 3rd. The reason we are working together is that we are much stronger and more visible as a group. We want to make substantial changes to the way the Joint Parish Council (JPC) is run and we can only do this if we can get a majority of us elected (i.e. at least 7 of our 12 candidates). You mentioned canvassing in your question – we have been very active in the last few days, really listening to what residents want. The response has been very encouraging so far.

HN: But can you really have a group of independents? Surely you are either independent or part of a group?

MW: Yes you can. When residents of Henley and Beaudesert meet us they will see that we are individuals with a variety of backgrounds and experiences, all with our own points of view and interests. Trust me, the group we have put together contains a number of strong-minded people and I have no doubt whatsoever that they will act independently if elected!

HN: So why are you standing for election to the Joint Parish Council?

MW: Simply because we feel we can make real changes to Henley, for the benefit of all residents and businesses. We feel that the current JPC has done a lot of good work for Henley in the past but that it has lost its way in recent times. I am not going to disparage the current JPC in public, as I would rather focus on the positives that Henley Independents will bring to the town, - the issues with the current JPC are well known and well documented in any event.

HN: What are the positives that Henley Independents will bring to the town then?

MW: Firstly, we have identified substantial cost savings – if we can achieve a good portion of these savings, then this money can be spent on projects in the town. At a time when county council budgets are being cut we think that we can fill some of this gap by managing the JPC’s money prudently and efficiently. People must remember that the JPC’s income (known as the Precept) comes from the residents of Henley and Beaudesert, via their council tax – it is the duty of the JPC to spend this as wisely as possible and to keep unnecessary expense and waste to a minimum. This chart shows that spending is out of control compared to many other similar sized parish councils in the area. This money has to come from the council tax payers in Henley and Beaudesert. Our JPC currently spends 64% more than Tanworth in Arden, which has a similar size population.

HN: Finding more money to spend on local projects and initiatives would be a good thing for Henley, what else do you have in mind?

MW: We are keen that the JPC is open to all and really listens to all members of the community. So, for example, we would like some of our meetings to be based around a certain section of society (the old, the young, local businesses etc) – this would be a chance for these local groups to discuss their concerns and opportunities with us. We also plan to streamline the number of meetings the JPC has – our goal is to have just one meeting a month. We think that one meeting a month, open to all, should be enough for a town the size of Henley – it’s what happens in many comparable towns after all. The big advantage for residents is that the one, monthly meeting can then be a focus for all discussions of town business – all issues can be aired and discussed at the monthly meeting. We also feel it is important that our discussions are held in public so, apart from in certain circumstances where we are required to discuss issues in private, everything else will be discussed and debated in public.

HN: Do you think that simply reducing the number of meetings is a vote winner though?

MW: What it shows, I hope, is that we are thinking of the residents, and are trying to fit in with them and their busy lives. We know that the to-ins and fro-ins of the JPC is not the most important thing in most people’s lives. What we are trying to do is to create a system that is efficient (so we can spend the JPC’s income more wisely), open to all, and transparent. I think these are important principles and they should be important to residents of Henley.

HN: But Henley is already a great place to live – how would electing Henley Independents make much difference to the town?

MW: Henley IS a great place to live. But we want to do more. I have already mentioned that we will free up some of the JPC’s income to spend on more projects around the town, but we have plenty of ideas that won’t cost any money, and which will benefit the town. For example, we would like to look at ‘guerilla’ gardening projects – planting vegetable plots around the town, for the benefit of townspeople. We will also look at the idea of working reciprocally with groups within the town. As another example, the Scout Hut needs a number of small repair jobs doing over the summer – could we encourage people to help with these jobs and ask the cubs and scouts to do some jobs around the town (maybe a litter pick) in exchange? There will be many other ideas and projects we can consider – if we can create a new JPC to help encourage these ideas and to actually help put these projects into action, then we are on to a winner.

HN: This all sounds encouraging and to be applauded, do you have any final thought for readers of Henley News Online?

MW: We can’t achieve any of this if we aren’t elected on May 3rd. So we need all supporters of Henley Independents to vote for us on that day. Residents of Beaudesert have 5 votes for the JPC and Henley residents have 7 votes. You can simply vote for all of the Henley Independents candidates on your ballot paper – we will be easily identified with a Henley Independents logo.

In the end it’s really very straightforward: if we get enough votes we will be elected. I really hope what I have outlined here will encourage people to vote for Henley Independents on May 3rd, as we feel we can make a real difference to the town.

HI to field 12 candidates in JPC elections

Campaigning for a better Henley-in-Arden

Mike Willmott, Chair of Henley Independents (HI), announced today that HI will be fielding 12 candidates in the Joint Parish Council elections on May 3rd.



"This is great news for Henley and Beaudesert’ he said, ‘we have submitted our nomination papers to Stratford District Council and I can confirm we have 7 candidates standing for Henley and 5 for Beaudesert. This means that we will be able to contest every seat on the Joint Parish Council.
 
"We have managed to recruit several younger people – the average age of our candidates is 52 (editor’s note: current JPC = 72), and we have 5 female candidates (editor’s note; current JPC = 3).

Our candidates are committed and enthusiastic people who have some excellent ideas for Henley and Beaudesert. Our aims are to make our town an even better place to live in, to reduce costs and bureaucracy (editor’s note: current JPC's admin = 42% of expenditure) and to engage with everyone who lives and works in the town – from young to old. With our excellent candidates in place, we are well on the way to achieving these aims.”

Highest Spending Council - Henley JPC

The Beaudesert and Henley-in-Arden Joint Parish Council was shown to be the highest spending council in the 2012 Survey of Stratford District Medium Sized Parish Councils (1,000 to 4,000 populations). 

Data source: Stratford District Council

- Our pledges to YOU -

We will:

Engage with ALL members of the community:

• We believe the Joint Parish Council must be open to ALL. If we do form the next JPC, we would welcome intervention from any member of the public who wishes to engage with us. We don’t want anyone to feel too intimidated to talk to us, or that we won’t listen to them. Apart from in a few exceptional circumstances, all our meetings and decision-making will be open to the public.
• We plan to have regular meetings based around specific local groups – for example: youth; the elderly; local businesses. These will provide the opportunity for those groups to discuss their issues, concerns and opportunities with us and other members of our community who attend the meetings.

Run the Joint Parish Council as efficiently as we can:

• We have identified a number of costs savings which we will endeavour to implement. The savings can then be reallocated to other important community projects.
• We work like to have just one Parish Council meeting per month and reduce the various sub-committee meetings, which take up a huge amount of time for little benefit. We feel that one efficient monthly meeting is all that a town the size of Henley requires (and is consistent with what happens in similar-sized towns). This means all JPC decisions will be taken at the single monthly meeting and, as we said above, you would be most welcome to attend.

Use the JPC funds wisely and fairly, across the whole community:

• The JPC spends its precept (which is the parish part of YOUR council tax) on the local community. This includes some fixed costs and some discretionary grants. We want everyone to be aware of the grant process and to invite more projects to apply for grants.
• We also want the community to advise the JPC which projects they think the JPC should support with a grant.

Work hard to make Henley an even better place to live:

• ‘Guerilla’ gardening projects – to grow fruit and vegetables in un-used local spaces.
• Consider making Henley a Fairtrade Town.
• Encourage and promote community volunteer projects – such a litter picks, sign cleaning, etc
• Investigate ‘time-banking’ so that projects and societies can trade time to help with one another’s projects.
• Work WITH the community to make sensible decisions regarding important local issues (such as The Hub, Croft Car Park and the Railway Station buildings)

So, if you like what you hear and feel we could make a difference,
please vote Henley Independents on May 3rd

Your Vote Counts!

---

Why does the JPC clerk have to work around 37 hours per week?

Stratford Midweek Herald - Tuesday 20th March 2012

A great idea from a public spirited resident

Although I do not wish to be part of the parish council, I am happy to donate my time to support the council in a secretarial capacity. I feel personally rather than paying an outrageous amount for a parish clerk, the parish council could better use this money by asking for a group of volunteers to administer this role at no cost. 

This would help start to repair a lot of damage that has been done by the parish council, by showing that there is a solution and the residents do care. Anyway that's just my opinion, I think it's better to offer to help than to sit back and do nothing. 

There must be other like minded people living in Henley who may not want to take on the responsibility of becoming a parish councillor but would be happy to support in other ways, using their skills and experience to help make Henley a more community focussed beautiful place to live. 

Let us hope you get some others to step forward with suggestions. It's is nice to know people care about our community.

A Resident - Name and address withheld

WALC admits Election Leaflet was Inaccurate

JPC failed to make any checks

The Joint Parish Council disclosed at the Council meeting on Monday 20th February that the anonymous flyer about becoming a parish councillor, which was circulated with the last JPC Magazine, was provided by the Warwickshire Association of Local Councils (WALC).

Many residents had complained that it contained very obvious inaccuracies. The "Do I qualify to stand for election?" panel failed to include the word "AND" and word "OR" THREE times, turning 4 alternatives into one single requirement with 5 criteria. Had this been correct, it would have disqualified all the retired electors and anyone working more than 3 miles outside the parish from becoming a councillor. It would also have meant that 10 out of 12 of the present councillors would not qualify to stand. The chairman, Cllr Roger Hubbocks, with the powerful support of Cllr Les Goodman, blocked any discussion and suggested the matter could be taken up with WALC. They agreed that the leaflet had been distributed without any checks being made on its accuracy by the JPC.

After the meeting, Henley NEWS emailed WALC saying that their leaflet contained inaccuracies. WALC responded by agreeing and revised the leaflet. Will the JPC now distribute the correct version?

Seeking Advice and Clarification

If you have any questions, you should ask the Stratford District Council Democratic Support Services on 01789 260208 or email: elections@stratford-dc.gov.uk

The Advert That Never Was

Many readers will have seen the 1956 movie, "The Man Who Never Was" which was about the true story of a British attempt to trick the enemy into weakening Sicily's defenses before the 1943 attack, using a dead man with faked papers. 

Operation 'Mincemeat' involved the acquisition and dressing up of a human cadaver as a "Major William Martin, R.M." and putting it into the sea near Huelva, Spain. Attached to the corpse was a brief-case containing fake letters falsely stating that the Allied attack would be against Sardinia and Greece rather than Sicily, the actual point of invasion.

When the body was found, the Spanish Intelligence Service passed copies of the papers to the German Intelligence Service which passed them on to their High Command. The ruse was so successful that the Germans still believed that Sardinia and Greece were the intended objectives, weeks after the landings in Sicily had begun.

At the JPC Council meeting on 6th, February Cllr Nicholas Haycock produced a picture of a simulated advert (reproduced above); "The Advert That Never Was". Both Cllr Haycock and Cllr Les Goodman expressed their strong condemnation for the Henley Independents and the spoof advert. 

Clearly, the English still have the ingenuity to mislead political adversaries.

JPC's leaflet error on Councillor qualifications

The JPC has now had to disclose that it published the anonymous flyer about becoming a parish councillor, which was circulated with the last JPC Magazine. Many residents had complained that it was inaccurate and believed that it might have contravened the Electoral Commission's regulations.

Several residents have queried the motive behind the flyer. Was it another example of JPC incompetence or was it a deliberate attempt by the Ruling Group to limit competition at the forthcoming Parish Council election? If it was the latter, this would be a most serious attempt at gerrymandering, which is defined as trying to get extra votes unfairly.

Although this leaflet appeared to have been designed for use by many parish councils with an simulated overprint in blue of the Henley JPC address, we now know that it was printed for the JPC. A cheque for £417.73 was approved by a majority vote, with 2 councillors voting against, at the last JPC Council meeting on Monday 20th Feb. Prior to this, the parish clerk had declined to disclose even to a parish councillor, the publisher of this flyer. Why was the Parish Clerk so reluctant to provide this information?

The "Do I qualify to stand for election?" criteria failed to include the word "AND" ONCE and word "OR" THREE times, turning 4 alternatives into 5 requirements. This would disenfranchise all retired electors and anyone working more than 3 miles outside the parish. It would also mean that 10 out of 12 of the present parish councillors would NOT qualify to stand for election.

Obviously, the JPC does not have the power to overrule Section 2 of the Representation of the People Act 2000 and all the local government electors on the Electoral Register can stand for election without meeting any other qualification.

The JPC election flyer above

The Correct Qualification and Disqualification Requirements

Persons qualify if they are aged over 18 and are a British, Commonwealth or EU Citizen and are also one or more of the following:

1. Registered LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTOR. 
2. OR occupied land or buildings in Henley or Beaudesert during the whole of preceding 12 months.
3. OR principal place of work has been in Henley Beaudesert during the whole of the preceding 12 months.
4. OR resided in one of the parishes or within 4.8 kms of the boundary of either parish during the whole of the preceding 12 months.

The panel, "Am I excluded from standing?" is also very confusing and again inaccurate.

If you have any questions, you should only ask the Stratford District Council Democratic Support Services on 01789 260208 or email: elections@stratford-dc.gov.uk

Residents are now expecting Cllr Roger Hubbocks, chairman of the JPC, to explain whether his group were gerrymandering, or was it just another blunder by this dysfunctional council. The councillors are now considering reissuing the leaflet.

Demand for enquiry into JPC Grants

Residents are considering demanding a public enquiry at the annual parish meetings into the JPC grants for the fiscal year 2012/3. 

There was outrage when it was announced that the Hub Youth Club would receive nothing and why the Christmas Lights would receive their full request when all other applicants had had their requests scaled down. 

The Christmas Lights Working Party, organised by Cllr Les Goodman, receives in addition to the JPC grant, considerable donations from the residents and businesses. Residents cannot remember the accounts being circulated so that they could see the reason why the Christmas Lights are a special case and that this application should not be scaled down like the others.

The annual parish meetings take place on 10th April for Henley and 17th April for Beaudesert, shortly before the parish council election on 3rd May.

Parish Clerk's Political Comments are wrong

In the January 19th edition of the Stratford Herald, the JPC clerk, writing in a personal capacity, said "unlike district and county councils, parish councils are not held in a political format". The editor of the Stratford Herald added a post script; "Ms Walsh's assertion that parish council elections are not held in a political format is false".

In the same letter, the parish clerk endorses a group of the existing councillors "the current parish council who in my opinion do an excellent job working under tremendous constraints from a small group who claim to represent the town when in actual fact they form a very small but vocal minority".

At the JPC meeting on Monday 16th January, the leader of the Henley Independents, Mike Willmott, reminded the JPC that Government officers such as parish clerks are not allowed to take part in political activities or promote any political party or group unless they first resign from office which in this case has not happened. 

Mr Willmott also asked that the JPC observes the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity and he pointed out that there were very specific rules during periods leading up to elections. Recent editions of the JPC Newsletter had been very biased and party political.

During the Council meeting, a debate took place about correspondence between the Joint Parish Council and the Henley War Memorial Trust, which administers the village hall and the playing fields. In a confused speech, Cllr George Matheou, right, said that when he joined the Henley War Memorial Trust several years ago, he told the then chairman of the Trust that he represented the parish council. Cllr Matheou maintained that this declaration meant that the whole parish council were trustees. Cllr Leech responded that whilst he could “represent” the parish council it did not make the whole parish council trustees. Cllr Leech said the Charity Commission rules were very precise and required that all trustees had to be “people”, not organisations.

Cllr Leech went on to say that it was unfortunate that the parish clerk had advised Councillors at their first meeting in December that the Council were trustees “in equal status” to the other trustees. Cllr Matheou had then used this information to issue a press release which had been widely reported, including in the Stratford Herald, and had criticised the way in which the trust had been run. Peter Crathorne, Chairman of the Henley War Memorial Trust previously had described Cllr Matheou’s press release as “a travesty of the truth”. After a lengthy debate without reaching any conclusions, Councillors decided to move on.

At the end of the meeting, the public and the press were excluded so that Councillors could discuss an unspecified complaint by the parish clerk against an un-named councillor. No information on this secret discussion has been made available to the media or Cllr Leech.

Comments from a Knowledgeable Reader

As the Clerk to Henley and Beaudesert Joint Parish Council, it is Ms Walsh's duty to act as the Proper Officer during elections and faciltate the democratic returning of elected members to the council.  This must be an impartial function.  

As an informed reader, I think Ms Walsh ought to know her facts. What she states is utterly wrong.

The beauty of the election system in this country is that pretty much anyone over the age of eighteen can stand for election, with or without the backing of a political party. This includes to all three tiers of Local Government.  

As it appears she does not understand her role as clerk and wishes to indulge in political views in the parish in which she works, this reader thinks she ought to know that she too could stand for election, subject to her resigning from her post and leaving a one year gap.

Look at what happens on a daily basis in countries that do not acknowledge the importance of democracy! 

An Experienced Local Government Officer

Parish Clerk objects to advertising for new councillors

Henley NEWS published a banner advert advising residents that they could stand as parish councillors in the May 2012 parish election.

The parish clerk, Mrs Jenny Walsh, without it being discussed by the full council demanded that the advert be "removed from your website forthwith".

Henley NEWS ran a similar campaign four years ago, which resulted in 2 new parish councillors.

Stratford District Council approves the Advert

Stratford District Council has emailed Henley NEWS advising that: "The District Council has received correspondence regarding this and has responded accordingly.

"There isn’t anything within electoral legislation regarding this concern, but the District Council does regard this as good practice to invite people to be a Councillor (above the statutory notices) and the District Council usually holds an open evening for all prospective candidates."

District Council criticises JPC and Parish Clerk

Monitoring Officer says:  "the Parish Council is Dysfunctional"

Stratford District Council's Standards & Ethics Committee has failed to sort out the "Dysfunctional" Beaudesert and Henley-in-Arden Joint Parish Council and will wash its hands of this authority. The District Council has attempted to sort out the problems of factionalism in the JPC but with no result in sight they are pulling out.

In August 2010, a complaint (SEC019) was lodged by the parish clerk, Mrs Jenny Walsh, against Cllr Bill Leech. After an investigation lasting almost 6 months and costing around £10,000, he was found guilty on one minor matter. All the rest of the allegations were rejected. He had to serve a two week suspension and the Ethics committee asked for the whole parish council, including the clerk, to agree to professional mediation.

Liam Nevin, the District Council's Monitoring Officer, who was not at the meeting, had reported that mediation was not possible because of the large number of councillors declining to participate, along with the parish clerk. Cllr Leech had supported mediation. In a letter to the parish clerk and the chairman of the Joint Parish Council, Cllr Roger Hubbocks, the Monitoring Officer had said: "I am dismayed by the manner in which the matter has been addressed and which I fear will simply reinforce the perceptions expressed by the sub-committee that the Parish Council is Dysfunctional."

Mr Nevin asked the committee to close the case and the committee agreed with his recommendation.

Mrs Walsh told the press that the Henley Joint Parish Council has made no proposals to change the way it operates!

Cllr Leech said: "I do not believe I have ever done anything wrong. I have challenged the excessive and unnecessary expenditure by the parish council. Let's hope that a new, fully functional and inclusive council will be elected next May.

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Respected Resident Comments

Dear Editor,

I cannot believe the pomposity and disdain with which certain members of our local parish council are treating their positions. This includes the Chairman Cllr Roger Hubbocks, the previous Chairman Cllr Len Goodman and the parish clerk Mrs Jenny Walsh. She in particular has it seems been nothing but a real trouble maker since taking the position. She is after all only a clerk.

Roll on May and hopefully the residents of Henley will see sense and elect people who put the residents first and not themselves. I would insist these councillors contribute towards the £10,000 they have wasted on our behalf.

Peter Knight - Resident of Henley

Raiding the Reserves is not a "Cost Saving"

There can be no more obvious example of waste by the JPC than its quarterly Newsletter, which has become a party political pamphlet on behalf of the Ruling Group paid for by the residents. Stale news and self glorification do not make a very interesting read. 

The JPC Newsletter has now been supplanted by much more professional publications such as the Stratford Herald, Henley Focus and Henley NEWS, all of which circulate much more frequently. Is it not time to abolish it and save our money?

The Autumn 2011 JPC Newsletter, like previous editions, has not been approved for publication by the Full Council.

The reduction in the Precept (Parish Council Tax) was achieved by utilising Reserves not by cost savings. This cannot be relied on to reduce the Precept in future years. It is also valid to say that the JPC could achieve significant savings, running into tens of thousand's of £'s and this must become the focus in future years.

It is also improper to use a council publication for party political purposes.

JPC's Outrage at Court Leet's initiative

Rebekah Smith - Stratford Herald - 21st July 2011.

ORGANISATIONS in Henley that wish to be involved in the Queen's diamond jubilee celebrations next year are being invited to come forward amid accusations this week that Henley Court Leet was "taking over" the planning of the event, writes Rebekah Smith.

It is hoped all the groups within the town that wish to play a part will come together to organise one large event for the community.

The event, which will be held in June next year, was discussed at a meeting of Beaudesert and Henley Joint Parish Council on Monday (18th July) night, where the Court Leet was accused of trying to take over the celebrations.

Cllr Les Goodman said the council had 18 months ago put a substantial sum of money aside for the celebrations. He said: "I find it absolutely astonishing that a civic organisation wants to take over the celebrations for the Queen's Jubilee. They don't have the right to do that. They should come to other organisations in the town."

Cllr Sheila Roy said: "I thought they'd have written to us in the first place asking us to join them. We need to get all of the organisations of the town together on this."

The council voted to write to the Court Leet, telling them it wasn't in their capacity to organise the whole event and that it should be done by a town committee.

However, the Court Leet's High Bailiff, John Rutherford, who was not present on Monday, was surprised to learn of the Council's discussions. He told the Herald: "I wrote to the council and said we had decided we would endeavour to get all the organisations who wish to be involved to come together, much as we did at the Millennium. The Court Leet were heading up a committee of joint organisations within the town for that so we thought we'd do the same. I wrote to the Parish Council and suggested they join us."

Mr Rutherford said that the court leet wanted every organisation in the town to have a chance to contribute: "It's obvious we want all the people in the town who wish to be involved to have a chance to be involved. We're trying to act as a focal point really.

"We've all got the same idea. Hopefully we will pull together."

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A Resident Comments

The reaction of the JPC to the letter from the Court Leet regarding the organisation of the forthcoming Diamond Jubilee is the latest in a series of petulant responses from the JPC to initiatives from other organisations within the town. The members of the JPC appear to believe that they have a unique right of organisation, and that all other bodies in the town should be subservient to their wishes. This cannot be right!

Parish Councils are a relatively new level of government, dating only from the Local Government Act of 1894. In accordance with the terms of that Act the members of the JPC are elected by the townspeople to carry out the duties required to run the civil administration in a legal and efficient manner, and to represent the interests of the town in other forums of civil administration.

To the credit of the JPC these tasks are attended to in a regular and dedicated manner. However the electors do not appear to have given a mandate to the JPC to seize the initiative in areas outside the civil administration.

On the other hand, the Court Leet has a long and distinguished history arising from the social fabric of the town and reflecting the position of the town within the wider community. Although many Courts were abolished in 1974, Henley together with 32 others was allowed to continue (being considered of historical importance). Today, many of the traditional responsibilities of the Court have been transferred to other statutory authorities, but the role of the Court in upholding the prestige of the town has never been lost. The Court is also a much more flexible and free thinking body than the JPC, being unhampered by the tight reins of bureaucracy which so bedevil and constrain much of the latter’s activities. It is worthy of note that the JPC recognises the importance of the Court Leet as “guardian of the history and traditions of the town” on the JPC website.

Many local organisations are anxious to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and any coordinated effort requires flair combined with a degree of “pomp and circumstance”, all of which the Court Leet has ably demonstrated in the past. A celebration of this kind is just the sort of thing that the Court does so well; it appears to be the most suitable organisation to coordinate an event of which the town can be justifiably proud. Let the High Bailiff lead the celebrations in the traditional manner, although if the Lord of the Manor could be present that would be ideal.

The JPC has an important job to undertake on a regular basis and has enough to do in carrying it out; rather than sulking they should be grateful that another organisation has offered to take on the demanding role of organising the celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee.

Henley Resident - Name and address supplied

£10,000 bill for Stratford Council Taxpayers

Stratford Observer - Laura Payne  20th May 2011

DYSFUNCTIONAL, antagonistic and divided is how a parish council has been branded following an investigation which cost taxpayers £10,000.

Henley and Beaudesert Parish Council was on the receiving end of the savage criticism from Stratford District Council's Standards Committee after the conclusion of a ten month saga which saw nine complaints made about the conduct of Coun Bill Leech by fellow councillors and the parish clerk.

But the committee cleared Coun Leech of any wrong-doing in all but one instance where it found an article he published online took comments made by the clerk Jenny Walsh out of context, made unjustified references to her behaving illegally and was generally disrespectful to her.

Coun Leech was ordered to write a letter of apology or face a two week suspension if he failed to do so. He told the Observer he had refused to apologise.

He said: "Having taken time to reflect on this I have decided not to apologise for failing to show respect. Respect has to be earned and it also has to work both ways, the ruling group, including the parish clerk, have not shown me any respect."

He added he would not appeal the decision because as it would cost taxpayers more money on top of that which had "already been wasted".

Coun Leech said: "I will not be appealing against the decision as it would only involve further months of investigation and more cost on what is at the end of the day a petty squabble. The Investigating Officer even agreed that this type of investigation was not designed for such trivial matters."

In one of the complaints Coun Leech was accused of misusing parish council letterheaded paper but investigating officers pointed out the letter in question was clearly marked 'draft.'In its response to this incident the committee said nothing had occurred which constituted a breach of the code of conduct or warranted an investigation and called some of the complaints it was being asked to consider simply 'tit-for-tat.'

Five of the complaints made against Coun Leech were submitted by Mrs Walsh who accused him of sending threatening correspondence and attempting to undermine her position.

Mrs Walsh told the Observer she has been instructed not to comment until the standards committee had submitted its full report - expected in a couple of weeks.

Coun Leech said he hoped the parish council could now move forward.

He said: "We have a dysfunctional council which was confirmed in the response from the district council. Let’s hope that with their intervention Henley will be the clear winner in that it may now have a more democratic parish council."

The district council has suggested all those involved bury their differences.

Serial Complaints lead to 'Dysfunctional JPC' label

The Beaudesert and Henley-in-Arden Joint Parish Council is dominated by a few members and the parish clerk. They have challenged by Cllr Leech over many matters which he believed should be questioned. As result 9 complaints made against Cllr Leech since he became a parish councillor in 2008. Of these, 5 have been made by the parish clerk. 

These complaints have probably cost the Henley Parish Council over £10,000 and the Stratford District Council another £10,000 investigating them. The vast majority have been rejected immediately as the following listing demonstrates.

1. SEC008 – Cllr Sheila Roy - COMPLAINT REJECTED
2. SEC014 – Cllr L Goodman - COMPLAINT REJECTED
3. SEC016 – Miss V Johnson - COMPLAINT REJECTED
4. SEC019 – Parish Clerk - 1 minor complaint upheld - 4 others REJECTED
5. SEC020 – Cllr Matheou - COMPLAINT REJECTED
6. SEC021 – Parish Clerk  - COMPLAINT REJECTED
7. SEC022 – Parish Clerk - Upheld although Cllr Leech was NOT INVOLVED
8. SEC026 – Parish Clerk - COMPLAINT REJECTED
9. SEC027 – Parish Clerk - COMPLAINT REJECTED

The only successful complaint (part of SEC019) related to using "without prejudice". he was found GUILTY not withstanding that a legal process was on going and he believed he was entitled to use this legal convention. The investigating officer considered this use “threatening”. The other upheld complaint (SEC022) was in respect of a matter of which he was not aware nor directly involved.

The chairman of the SDC Standards & Ethics sub-committee has called the Henley Joint Parish Council ‘Dysfunctional’ and added that the clerk’s emails were ‘provocative’. Approx 50% of all the complaints dealt with by Stratford District Council’s Standards & Ethics sub-committee in recent years have come from the Henley Parish Council.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said in the House of Commons: "The Standards Board regime became the problem, not the solution. Unsubstantiated and petty allegations, often a storm in a teacup, damaged the reputation and standing of local government, as well as wasting taxpayers' money."  The minister was correct on all counts and he abolished the Standards Board regime in the Localism Bill, which became law in November 2011.

In-fighting “Is stopping council doing its job”

Report by Rebekha Smith - Stratford Herald

TRIVIALITY and in-fighting dominated this week's meeting of Beaudesert and Henley Joint Parish Council when another meeting got bogged down dealing with petty issues at the expense of discussions issues for the benefit of the town.Cllr George Matheou summed it up neatly when he said towards the end of the nearly 90-minute meeting on Monday:"Instead of getting on with our jobs to serve this community we're dealing with pettiness."Trouble began in the public participation session when resident Mike Willmott asked chairman Cllr Les Goodman to explain why he had spoken in support of the cattle market application at Stratford District Council's planning committee meeting the previous week as the council had not supported the application. Cllr Goodman refused to answer, prompting resident Stephen Dorow to ask incredulously: "Why don't you reply? Is it not decent of you to reply to the question?"

Cllr Goodman retorted: "Are you saying I'm not decent?" To which Mr Dorow argued: "I'm saying it was a decent question." Cllr Goodman cut short the verbal sparring by agreeing with Mr Dorow but adding: "The rules are I don't have to answer."

However, Cllr Goodman later addressed the question by denying he had said he supported the cattle market application. He said: "I said we didn't object in principle to the to the development but we still had concerns over certain items not being addressed."

Some time was then spent debating the minutes of the previous meeting and whether two votes had been taken or just one, something one would think would be fairly straightforward.Two weeks ago councillors voted to seek police advice into a potential fraud committed by two of their colleagues. Cllrs Bill Leech and Sue Osborne, who had produced a draft letter using the council's letterhead and logo without consent.

The confused debate started this week when Cllr Sheila Roy said she had not voted to contact the police but had voted to report the incident to Stratford District Council's standards and ethics committee. Council clerk Jenny Walsh informed her only one vote had taken place for both those decisions, to which a number of councillors agreed. But Cllrs Roy, Leech and Osborne, and indeed the vocal Mr Dorow who had attended the last meeting, remembered two votes taking place.

Cllr Roy said she had not known what she was voting for and even Mrs Walsh admitted councillors were often confused about what they were voting on.

The council soon faced this danger again during a lengthy debate on whether to renew its annual membership of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE). Two councillors argued the CPRE had never helped the council, but Cllr Osborne argued the CPRE had done a lot to prevent inappropriate development in the town.

After a proposal to renew membership had been defeated a seemingly academic proposal not to renew membership was made. As even the clerk got confused about whether councillors were voting for or against paying the annual subscription of £29 Mr Dorow chipped in: "Shall I pay it?" The council eventually voted not to renew the membership.

Among the petty issues was some good news for the town. Cllr George Matheou updated councillors on progress with ideas to deal with the derelict buildings at Henley Railway Station and put forward his idea to set up a committee to look at alternative sites for the market, to ensure Henley remains a market town.

Cllr Chris Milsom reported on the success of the flood exercise held on Saturday as part of the national Watermark exercise, and a resident asked councillors to add their names to a petition to save the town's library—already up to nearly 500 signatures.

The Midweek Herald report on the planning meeting states:
Parish council chairman Cllr Les Goodman told members on Wednesday the council supported the plans in principle .....