Bitter feud in Arlesey sparks six resignations

Hugh Harper, chairman of Arlesey Town Council, stepped down from that post and was quickly followed by five other councillors at Arlesey Village Hall.

On Monday (September 5) Mr Harper was suspended from the council for four weeks after attending a Central Beds Council standards sub-committee hearing.

He had been reported to the Central Beds monitoring officer by two members of town council staff and faced charges of bullying, intimidation and showing a lack of respect to employees between July and October last year.

He was cleared of bullying and intimidation but following the hearing the sub-committee decided that ‘on a number of occasions between July and October 2010 Councillor Harper had failed to treat staff employed by Arlesey Town Council with respect contrary to paragraph 3 (1) of the Town Council’s Code of Conduct.’

Mr Harper claims that during the meeting it came to light that when he returned to the council he would face another hearing as more complaints were due to be made against him.

He says his position become untenable and he is being supported by Councillors Ian Dalgarno, Doreen Archer, Christina and Richard Harris and Lianne Bowskill.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Harper said: “It is very sad that I have been put in a position where I feel I am unable to continue as chairman, and after being a councillor for eight years.

“I can’t really go into the specifics of these accusations but I can’t understand why I was reported and I don’t believe I have done anything wrong.

Other councillors claim constant scrutiny by council clerk Elsie Hare and her staff has resulted in a complete breakdown of trust between the councillors and employees.

Mrs Harris said: “I feel very angry and upset about this. Everything we say seems to be logged in a book that the staff are keeping and myself and other councillors have felt quite intimidated by it.

“It got to the stage where councillors were reluctant just to talk to the staff as everything was being scrutinised and noted, completely unnecessarily.

“The staff reported Councillor Harper for not respecting them but respect is a two-way street.”

Mrs Hare claims that staff approached Mr Dalgarno about their grievances with Mr Harper but said he failed to deal with them.

She said: “It was Councillor Dalgarno’s duty to deal with our complaints, as they would be dealt with at any properly-run company.

“But he declined to do so, leaving us no choice but to contact Central Bedfordshire Council.

“We are sad that it has come to this as we like Hugh Harper but staff could not work in those kind of conditions.

“I also think the councillors have been quite irresponsible by handing in their resignations when they should be serving the community.”

A spokesman for Central Beds Council said the council could not comment as the resignations were a matter for Arlesey Town Council.