Joel Cooper

A DEVON County Councillor says Fremington Parish Council has tried to stop him speaking at meetings by passing a new motion.

But the parish councillor who brought the motion says it is not designed to restrict County Council representatives from reporting at meetings, but to standardise the rules governing the council.

Fremington Parish Council on Monday passed the motion brought forward by Conservative parish and district councillor Dick Jones.

The motion says no one other than parish councillors should be able to join in with discussions about council business, unless members agree to suspend standing orders to allow them to do so.

Standing orders are the rules by which a council is governed and lay down the way in which meetings are ordered.

But the motion was not passed without accusations from some parish councillors that the move was a "gagging order" on Councillor Rodney Cann.

Fremington Rural County Councillor Mr Cann (Inde) also believes the motion is being brought forward to prevent him talking at meetings.

Mr Cann said: "Parish Councils throughout Devon allow their county councillors to speak freely at meetings, in fact in most cases it is actively encouraged.

"Parishioners have a right to know what their elected council officials are doing on their behalf. I speak regularly at parish council meetings in Instow, Westleigh and Newton Tracey, Horwood and Lovacott and it has never been a problem."

Mr Cann, who defeated the Conservative candidate to win a seat on Devon County Council as an independent, said he feared the move was politically motivated.

Councillor Chris Tucker also told the meeting he questioned the motive behind the motion and thought it was "to silence Councillor Cann, for whatever reason."

But Mr Jones said it was to standardise how the council allowed non-elected members to address the council.

He told the meeting: "It is not about me trying to silence councillor Cann. He has been valuable to these meetings.

"The issue is that no one other than parish councillors should be able to speak on matters pertinent to the council.

"Anyone wishing to address the council should make a request through the chairman, and councillors should then decide upon whether they can. It does not solely apply to county councillors."

Councillor John Gill also said not having the rule would make a mockery of the council's standing orders.

The motion was passed by seven councillors. Four councillors voted against the move and one abstained.