A town councillor has been ordered to apologise for behaviour during a heated debate which ended when he stormed out of the room.

Councillor Roger Bonney was found to be in breach of the councillor's code of conduct for comments made about councillor Alan Jewell at a planning meeting in April.

The town council planning meeting involved a debate over councillor Jewell's application for permission to continue letting out his campsite year-round.

The councillor, who owns Pennance Mill Farm, had hosted visitors on his campsite in the off-season without planning permission for years and applied for a certificate of lawfulness after a member of the public reported him.

He declared an interest and left the room whilst the town council committee debated the application.

Councillor Bonney then claimed that councillor Jewell, who was chairman of the planning committee at the time, had "been a bit naughty in the past" by extending his campsite.

He said that the council would be "opening the floodgates" to more visitors by supporting the application which was, he said, "paving the way" for future development.

Both the town clerk and vice-chair of the committee advised councillor Bonney not to bring up past matters, but the discussion became increasingly heated with councillor Bonney raising his voice.

He eventually stormed out of the room, but not before telling the committee: "You're making decisions that will come round and bit you in the a**."

The committee voted to raise no objection to councillor Jewell's application. Cornwall Council has yet to make a decision on it.

Councillor Jewell later filed a complaint about the incident which was assessed by Eleanor Garraway, Cornwall Council's corporate governance officer.

She found that councillor Bonney's actions constituted breaches of three elements of the councillor's code of conduct:

  • You must treat others with respect
  • You must not do anything that could reasonably be regarded as bringing your office or your authority into disrepute
  • You must not conduct yourself in a manner which is contrary to the council's duty to promote and maintain high standards of conduct by members

Ms Garraway wrote in her findings that although the councillor had made a "personal attack" on the complainant, this in itself did not breach the code as public servants are expected to be subject to criticism.

It was councillor Bonney's treatment of the town clerk (Mark Williams) and vice chair (John Spargo), ignoring their advice and speaking over them, that breached the code.

Commenting on the complaint, the councillor explained that he raised his voice as he is hard of hearing.

Ms Garraway's report said: "Whilst the comments and reasonings are noted, it does not mean the Subject Member can do as he wishes and ignore the advice of those present."

She found that by speaking over the town clerk and vice chair, the councillor also brought his office into disrepute and conducted himself in a manner contrary to the council's duty to promote high standards of conduct.

He has been ordered to write an apology to both Mr Williams and councillor Spargo.

Read more: Councillor storms out after vote on chairman's application