A TORY councillor has hit out at Denby Dale Parish Council for reporting him to the councils watchdog after he criticised their plans to improve the area.

Clr Martyn Bolt, a Kirklees Council cabinet member, received a letter from the Standards Board for England stating it had received a complaint about him from Denby Dale Parish Council, but it had decided not to investigate.

The complaint accused Clr Bolt of misusing council resources by having a press release issued to reflect his personal views about the parish council’s Denby Dale Parish Plan.

Clr Bolt said: “To find myself reported to the same people who investigate councillors for fraud and other serious things, I thought was ridiculous.”

In the Parish Plan, the Denby Dale council set out the things it would like to do to improve the community, including ways of tackling anti-social behaviour, traffic congestion, road safety and use of Green Belt land.

However, in October, Clr Bolt described the 20-page plan as a ‘wish list’ and said Kirklees Council was already working on some of the projects suggested.

He criticised the parish council for making promises without the funds to take action, duplicating projects and for not working with Kirklees Council before drawing up the plan.

The complaint to the Standards Board stated the parish council had scoured minutes from Kirklees Council meetings, but had not found a record of the parish council being criticised.

They concluded that this meant Clr Bolt had been expressing his personal opinion, not that of the council, and had misused resources by issuing an official press release to express his views.

However, the board ruled that Clr Bolt had not breached the Code of Conduct and said there was nothing inappropriate about him expressing his views via a press release.

The decision stated: “Commenting on local matters is considered to be part and parcel of the role of a local representative.”

Graham Turner, chairman of the parish council, said they had approached the Standards Board because they wanted to be clear about Clr Bolt’s rights.