St Neots parking protest councillor angry after being reported to watchdog

A COUNCILLOR has spoken of his anger after being reported to the Standards Committee for organising a protest march in St Neots in opposition of parking charges.

Councillor Steve van de Kerkhove and community campaigner Anne Harris organised the march on August 1 opposing Huntingdonshire District Council’s plans to introduce charges at St Neots Riverside Car Park.

Despite more than 150 people attending the march and a 2,000-signature petition being presented, HDC still introduced charges at the car park.

But his actions led to Councillor Ken Churchill reporting him to the Standards Committee for breaching the district council’s code of conduct.

The complaint alleged that he had conducted himself in a manner which could be regarded as bringing his office into disrepute by not completing the required events application form and undertaking a risk assessment.

No action was taken against Cllr van de Kerkhove as the Committee felt “insufficient definitive evidence” had been presented.

Speaking to The Hunts Post, Cllr van de Kerkhove said he had done nothing wrong and felt the complaint had been submitted to silence his opposition to the parking charges.

He said: “I’m absolutely furious and disgusted that this complaint was made against me.

“I did a health and safety risk assessment and had marshals on the day. I filled in the correct paperwork and did it all properly. I did not fill in an events form because it was not an event but just an assembling of people.

“Some district councillors think they can operate like a mafia. They cannot stand criticism and try to gag people who stand up against them.

“In this case Cllr Churchill tried to use underhand scare tactics to frighten me. But it hasn’t worked. I will not be quiet. This has made me even more determined to stand up for what I believe in.”

When approached by The Hunts Post, Cllr Churchill said he did not wish to comment as he had 28 days to appeal the decision. He did however say that the complaint was not just about the car parking protest but about “a number of issues”.