Councillor in bullying claimssuspended

A COUNCILLOR has been suspended from a Yorkshire council after a tribunal heard he bullied a couple to sell their land to supermarket chain Netto.

Wakefield Council Independent member Roy Bickerton, who is also Mayor of Featherstone, was found guilty of misconduct by The Adjudication Panel for England, a local government watchdog body.

The tribunal panel heard from Featherstone couple Anthony and Jacqueline Green, who owned land behind their fireplace shop, Mode-Tex, and were considering selling it to supermarket Lidl when Coun Bickerton approached them in 2007.

They claimed the councillor threatened the land could be compulsory purchased if they did not sell it to Netto. Mr Green, of Pontefract Road, told the hearing: “We were being bullied and badgered into doing what he wanted, putting a Netto store on the site.”

Coun Bickerton, who denied the allegations, told the hearing that he “couldn’t care less” which supermarket was to open.

The panel has ruled that his conduct in dealings regarding the land was “inappropriate and threatening” and that he had made an inappropriate remark relating to the planning process.

The panel ruled he had breached rules by bullying Mr and Mrs Green over the development of their land. It also said he had brought his office and Wakefield Council into disrepute in his contacts with the Greens and Lidl and Netto.

The panel said Coun Bickerton had attempted to confer a disadvantage on Lidl and an advantage on Netto in relation to the development site.

Coun Bickerton, who was not available to comment last night, was suspended from Wakefield Council until the end of his term in office in May.

The tribunal has urged the council to ensure no person should be allowed to sit on the planning committee unless they have had appropriate training.