...
As a Councillor my hands are tied as to what I can do, but I will not be
standing for re-election and can fight this as an individual for the
people
involved. As a councillor I cannot write a threatening letter, as a
citizen
I can :-))

Is that so? really?

What are the rules then?

I ask because a councillor sent me a threatening letter - I disagreed
with
him over something and he didn't like it and wanted me shut up - and I was
told he could what he liked and being a councillor didn't affect his
personal rights.

It was sometime ago now and I am not going to drag it up but I would like
to
know the rules.



As a Councillor, if I want something doing, it has to go through the proper
channels and the Clerk has to take it from there in letter form and the
outcome is final, 'to a certain degree'.

I can only quote what I have done as a private citizen and the way I did it
got the job done. Through the council and 'flannel'

Rather appropriate I suppose, but our village 'Lake' has a flooding problem.
Not so funny when you realise that the pair of houses opposite me flooded to
above skirting board level 4 times between 1986 when I moved in and the last
time, September 2003. The problems were twofold. !) So much building has
gone on that the drains cannot cope in a downpour and 2) the camber of a
junction was such, that when the drains flooded, the only place for the
water to go was down a drive and into the pair of houses via air bricks and
hollow floors.

On the last occasion I videoed the water and made the Highways and the Water
Department sit in my lounge, watch the video, and explain to them what they
had to do to alleviate the problem again. Meanwhile I was opposing any
building applications which were new builds on virgin ground because this
would have meant diverting more water to the drains. At the bottom of the
letter I wrote something to the effect that if Planning Department gave
planning consent after my warning, then any further flooding of these houses
would be down to the Council's negligence and that the owners would receive
my backing in suing the Council. I stopped two blocks of flats and the sale
of a field for bungalows

I had lots of planning applications turned down and the road surface
altered. The main drain in the village has also been given some form of
treatment. At the last downpour, the water ran away, 'away' from the houses
which had flooded in the past.

Another example of 'citizen power' over Councillor power was with the Gas
board. They were for ever repairing the old gas main. The road was
resurfaced in 1990, by the year 2000 we had 13 patches/repairs in 140
metres. I asked the men why a new main was not being put in. 'No money'.
Repairs and maintenance are a different budget.

I wrote to the Gas board and pointed out that their men had told me that the
leaking gas got into the drains, and were they aware that at the top of the
road is an underpass going under the Electric Train, and were they aware
that just 7 feet above the drain, was the train electric supply pick up
which often sparked. "Is this not a disaster waiting to happen?" Copied to
the Rail Company. A new 140 metre gas main was fitted the following week

I could not have done that as a Councillor, it would have had to go via the
Clerk and I don't think the rest of the councillors would have agreed with
my tone. Besides that, as they only meet once a month, you will see that
anything up to 3 months could go on just exchanging letters :-((

But I get the things done and the neighbours thank me for it :-)).

Without knowing the circumstances, I don't think that the councillor is in
his right to write a threatening letter to an individual. Corporation yes,
but not to you.

Hope that helps, sorry it is long

Mike