Councillor cleared of wrongdoing by ombudsman in caravans row
A 'dark and difficult time' has come to an end for a councillor, as an independent investigation cleared him of wrongdoing.
Councillor David Price, who represents Llanafanfawr, had been under investigation by the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales over allegations that he broke the Powys County Council members’ code of conduct.
Complaints were made that Councillor Price breached the code over planning issues and the number of caravan pitches that are allowed at his farm.
He said: “Last week I received formal notification from the ombudsman that they have concluded I have not broken the members’ code of conduct.
“Their independent investigation has been detailed and lengthy, taking almost 12 months to gather evidence and witness statements.
“I have been totally cleared of any wrongdoing.
“This has been a dark and difficult time, and I thank my family and good friends for the support I have received.”
A spokesperson for the ombudsman said: “We can confirm that a decision has been made regarding Councillor David Price.”
The issues surrounding the complaints go back to a planning meeting in July 2018.
There Councillor Price, a former chairman of the planning committee, was given a certificate of lawfulness for 28 caravan pitches for his family business, Noyadd Farm, near Builth Wells.
Complaints
Evidence showed that the site had run with 28 pitches without the certificate for a number of years. Under Caravan Club rules he was only allowed to have five pitches.
At the meeting, planning officers said that Councillor Price had been running the caravan site without the certificate for too long to be subject to enforcement action. This followed an internal investigation into the caravan site by the council.
The application had been made following complaints made by other caravan site owners that Councillor Price was flouting planning regulations by having more pitches than he should.
At the meeting, Councillor Gwilym Williams and Councillor Elwyn Vaughan argued that Councillor Price’s application should be decided by another local authority.
They believed that Councillor Price, as a former chairman of the planning committee, should have known that he needed to change the status of the caravan park.
Councillor Vaughan went as far as calling for Councillor Price’s resignation.
In the weeks following this meeting the complaints were made and Councillor Price retaliated with his own complaint that he was being harassed by the pair over the issue.
In May this year both Councillors Williams and Vaughan were informed that the complaints into their conduct had been dropped due to a lack of evidence.
