Former councillor: 'Unfair' ban wrecked career (From Bucks Free Press)

Former councillor: 'Unfair' ban wrecked career

11:30am Monday 13th July 2009

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A FORMER councillor who was disqualified from political office has spoken of the “gross injustice” and “enormous” consequences the ban has had on his personal life and career.

The ruling last year in June, which barred him from holding a political position for a year, has had a dramatic snowballing effect, Tony Dunn, 65, of Terrington Hill, Marlow has told the Marlow Free Press.

Mr Dunn lost his job with Surrey County Council as head of asset management last year, and last month was thrown out of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors after 37 years’ “unblemished and loyal membership of the Institution.”

He estimates he has lost earnings of up to £100,000.

Last year, the Adjudication Panel for England ruled he had “totally and, arguably wilfully” ignored planning rules.

It found that he “used his position as a councillor to confer or secure an advantage” for Marlow businessman Brian Folley over two planning applications.

However, Mr Dunn believes the hearing was unfair because four witnesses were not heard who would have backed his claims that his reasons for intervening on one of the plans was to save Wycombe District Council from a legal battle potentially costing £1.5 million.

Father-of-three Mr Dunn, pictured,  said: “My only motive for trying to defer consideration in June 2007 of the planning application at Highgrounds, Harleyford, was to avoid a possible very large claim for damages by Mr and Mrs Brian Folley against Wycombe District Council.”

The September 2007 application was an attempt to overcome a council order to stop construction of a house being built by Mr Folley, who employed Mr Dunn as secretary of two of his companies.

Mr Dunn, who used to be both a Wycombe district and Marlow town councillor, wrote to the councillors due to decide the application because officers recommended it be refused – meaning legal action by Mr Folley would continue.

Mr Folley said last year: “Tony Dunn was simply a ward councillor as far as I’m concerned. I see him once a year at company meetings.”

Mr Dunn believes the key figure who could have prevented his suspension by the Adjudication Panel was former Conservative colleague Hugh McCarthy – who was planning portfolio holder at the time.

He said he raised the issue of possible damages on numerous occasions and he had acknowledged at the time his reasons were altruistic.

“All this would have been avoided, and my career and livelihood as a senior surveyor and manager and membership of WDC and Marlow Town Councils, would have continued unhindered, if I had assistance from Hugh McCarthy,” he said.

Cllr McCarthy said he had been advised not to have contact with Mr Dunn for legal reasons and did not want to make any further comment.

Mr Dunn was also suspended for a month from the town council for “seeking to influence” four councillors’ votes on a planning application in December 2006. Mr Dunn said: “I haven’t lost any friends in Marlow because they all know whatever is alleged to have happened is out of character for me.

“I think a lot of people looked at this and thought ‘this is not the Tony Dunn I know’.

“Everything I did was for the best interests of the people I represented.”

Mr Dunn is appealing against last month’s expulsion from the RICS and hopes it will be reduced to a reprimand.

He added: “I’m doing this as a matter of pride, I don’t want people going around saying Tony Dunn is bent. I had an untarnished record.”

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