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Procedures for dealing with alleged breaches of member code of conduct

Standard Regime

Procedures for dealing with alleged breaches of member code of conduct

  1. The Monitoring Officer is the Proper Officer to receive complaints of the failure to comply with the Code of Conduct.

  2. Upon receipt of a complaint the Monitoring Officer will acknowledge receipt and inform the accused member.

  3. Where appropriate, the Monitoring Officer will explore the possibility of informal resolution outside the formal process e.g. by the Member in question making an apology

  4. Where informal resolution is not possible or appropriate the Monitoring Officer will seek the comments of the accused Councillor and then make an assessment. Where the complaint is against a Wychavon Member, the Monitoring Officer will decide whether or not the complaint needs to be investigated, having first consulted with the Committee Chairman (or Vice-Chairman), or one other District Council Member of the Committee and at least one Independent member.

    Where complaint is against a Parish Member, the Monitoring Officer will decide whether or not the complaint needs to be investigated.  The Committee Chairman (or Vice-Chairman) and/or one of the Parish Representatives on the Committee and/or an Independent Member will be consulted if necessary.
    Both the accused Member and complainant will be informed promptly in writing of the outcome of the assessment.

  5. Where a complaint relates to an alleged breach of the code which may also be a criminal offence the Monitoring Officer shall pass the information received, if it has not already been done, to the police and no further action will be taken.

  6. Where the complaint refers to acts or incidents that took place more than six months ago the complaint will not be considered except in exceptional circumstances which mean the complainant could not bring the complaint sooner.

  7. Where complainants, anyone acting on their behalf and or any District or Parish Councillor may be deemed to be vexatious or unreasonably persistent the Monitoring Officer will assess the nature of the complaints and behaviour of the individuals concerned and decide whether the individuals and or their complaints should be deemed as vexatious, having first consulted with at least one Independent member and or Chair or Vice Chair of the committee.

  8. Where the decision has been made for the complaint to be fully investigated, the Monitoring Officer will appoint an Investigating Officer.
    The investigation should be undertaken as quickly as possible, except in exceptional circumstances for example where the complaint is particularly complex in nature.

  9. During the investigation, the investigating officer should update the Monitoring Officer and involved parties as to progress and advise of deadlines.  If deadlines need to be extended all parties should be contacted with relevant details.  The Monitoring Officer will have the power to curtail an investigation at any stage, following consultation with the Committee Chairman (or Vice-Chairman).  The situation would then be reported to the Committee.

  10. Following completion of an investigation, the Chairman and Independent Member will be informed and confirm if they endorse any findings.

  11. If it is agreed that there has been no breach of the Code, that will be the end of the matter and the report will be sent to the accused, complainant and their relevant Council.

  12. In the case of a Wychavon Member, if the Committee decide that there has been a breach of the Code, they may then resolve:-
    (a) to censure the Member;
    (b) to request the Member to undergo relevant training;
    (c) to refer the matter onto the relevant Group Leader and or to full Council with any further appropriate recommendations relating to Committee membership, portfolio responsibilities, access to Council premises and or assets.

  13. In the case of a Parish Member, if it has been decided that there has been a breach of the Code, the matter will be referred onto the relevant Parish Council with details of any recommendations, and the matter will also be referred to a full meeting of Wychavon Council, for information.

  14. If the findings of any investigation are not accepted a special committee hearing will be convened to hear from all parties. The Committee can decide to reject the investigation findings, endorse the findings and or make further recommendations.  The decision of the Member Conduct Committee shall be final. 

Notes

          (i)    If a Special Hearing of the Member Conduct Committee is required the Committee will consider whether the full report or any part thereof will be made public by the Committee. 

           (ii)    Throughout the process, the Monitoring Officer shall have the right to refer to Council officers, Leaders of political groups, Parish Clerks, the CALC Executive officer and any other persons that they consider appropriate; the Monitoring Officer shall also have the right to request copies of documents from relevant persons.  If an Investigating Officer has been appointed, they shall have the same rights.

          (iii)    If the Monitoring Officer is unavailable or unable to act, the Deputy Monitoring Officer and the Head of Legal Services have authority to deal with matters in their place.

          (iv)    Parish Council includes Town Council; Parish Member includes Town Council Member.

          (v)     Independent member means one of the Independent members appointed by the Council, in line with the Localism Act 2011, to the Member Conduct Committee. 

(vi)       With regards vexatious complainants, for anyone deemed to be acting vexatiously the Councils adopted processes for dealing with vexatious complainants will be followed.  

Consultation on Mandatory Safeguarding Refresher Training for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Drivers

Wychavon District Council is responsible for issuing licences in respect of drivers of hackney carriage (taxi’s) and private hire vehicles.

In July 2020, with a view to better protecting children, females and vulnerable adults, the Department for Transport (DFT) issued new statutory guidance to taxi and private hire licensing authorities, called the “Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Standards”.

Following its publication the Council reviewed its own Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy, and in doing so introduced mandatory safeguarding awareness training for all new licence holders.

Having further reviewed the above and to increase public safety, the Council is now considering introducing a requirement that all licensed drivers have to undertake refresher training in relation to safeguarding awareness before renewing their licences, which they have to do at least every three years. 

It is proposed that this requirement would be introduced from 1st July 2025 and that drivers applying to renew their licences after that date will need to undertake a safeguarding awareness training to refresh their knowledge before their licence could be renewed.

The Council would now like to hear your views on the above proposal:

Have your say on the above consultation via this survey:

Take the Survey

The closing date of this consultation is Friday 31st January 2025.

Stoulton Conservation Area changes consultation

In this section

We are consulting on proposed changes to Stoulton Conservation Area and a new conservation area appraisal and management plan.

We want to hear the views of residents, community groups, businesses, and others with an interest in the area.

What is a Conservation Area?

Conservation Areas are designated by the local planning authority due to their special historic and architectural interest. In these areas, the preservation and enhancement of the existing townscape, alongside individual buildings, is of particular importance.

A new Character Appraisal of Stoulton Conservation Area was undertaken by us. This highlighted the area’s historic, architectural, archaeological and townscape interest, which was considered sufficient to merit its protection.

A draft Management Plan has also been produced for the Conservation Area, which is located within the administrative area of Wychavon District Council. The draft Management Plan sets out proposals and actions to preserve and enhance its special character.

Changing of the boundaries would impose additional controls on ‘Permitted Development’ rights (rights that allow certain works to be carried out without a planning application) within the areas where the boundary is extended. These controls are set by national legislation. They would not prevent development from taking place but would help ensure it maintains and enhances the area’s special qualities.

Proposed changes to Stoulton Conservation Area

You can read the pdf draft Stoulton Conservation Area Appraisal (14.88 MB) document in full.

A summary of the main changes are also set out below.

Summary of main changes

It has been proposed to change the existing conservation area boundary and to extend it to include areas of the village considered to have special architectural or historic interest that were excluded from the original conservation area.

The proposed boundary will include the rest of the historic settlement situated on the opposite side of the main Worcester to Pershore road from the current conservation area. This area should be included as it is also part of the historic settlement; Stoulton is more than the village around the church, the historic environment, amenity, and administrative areas, as well as the natural environment, extend into this part of the village.

Further inclusion are the pasture fields to the west and north-east of the historic core. These fields are important elements of the economic and overall history of Stoulton and played a significant contribution in its development and financial growth. The fields to the west are historic orchards, with only a handful of trees remaining, and managed pasture likely related to smallholdings; the natural boundary formed by the stream defines this pasture. The fields to the north-east were and are pasture that has remained unaffected despite development throughout the rest of the village, suggesting some important to the economy of Stoulton. Both have special historic interest to the conservation area.

Finally, it is proposed to include the 19th century extension to the very north of the settlement demonstrating the extension of the settlement to provide farmworkers cottages. These cottages are evidence of a prosperous rural village, which required the addition of further housing to support the growing industry. They have been proposed for inclusion in recognition of the historic interest of the growth and prosperity of the rural economy, and the impact it had upon Stoulton.

The affected properties are listed below:

  • Senner Cottage
  • The Swallows
  • Oak Cottage
  • Bears Cottage
  • Holly Cottage
  • Windsor Cottage
  • 1 and 2 Malvern View
  • The Grange
  • Manton Barn
  • Pear Tree Barn
  • Empingham Barn
  • The Hambleton
  • Barrowden
  • The Lyddington Barn
  • The Old Forge
  • Homefield
  • Boxbush House
  • 1-3 Boxbush Cottages
  • The Motor House
  • Forget Me Not Cottage
  • Birch Tree Cottage
  • Merrimans Cottage
  • 2 Council House
  • Froggery House
  • The Meadows
  • Saddlestones
  • Downalong
  • Eden House
  • High Trees
  • Fairview
  • Hillberry
  • The Courthouse
  • Manor Cottage
  • Manor Lodge
  • Kirkfield
  • Manor Bank

Further adjustments have been suggested to allow the boundary to follow recognisable physical boundary features and following property boundaries where it currently takes an arbitrary line through the landscape or properties from its associated land, as at:

  • Village Hall
  • Granary Cottage
  • Manor Farmhouse
  • Briar House
  • Manor Bank

The suggested boundary changes are shown in the plan. They have been the subject of initial informal consultation with Stoulton Parish Council and local district councillors Cllr Rob Adams and Cllr Liz Turier.

Consultation

A formal consultation on the proposed changes and the new character document and management plan will take place between 11 October 2024 and 22 November 2024.

The consultation documents are available to view below:

A reference copy of the consultation document is available to view during opening hours at Pershore Library, and our offices at the Civic Centre in Pershore.

Find out more

A drop-in information session will be held at Stoulton Village Hall Church Lane, Stoulton, Worcestershire, WR7 4RE on 16 October 2024 between 4.30pm and 8.30pm. 

This is an opportunity for you to speak to officers and find out more about the conservation area and the changes.

Have your say

If you would like to make comments on the proposed changes then they must be done in writing. 

This can be done by filling in the Stoulton Conservation Area Changes Consultation Feedback Form. 

You can also email comments to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or write to Stoulton Conservation Changes Consultation, Wychavon District Counci, Queen Elizabeth Drive, Pershore, WR10 1PT.

Responses must be received no later than 5pm on 22 November 2024.

For more information about how we will use personal information you provide as part of your consultation response please read our Planning Policy Privacy Notice.

Contact us

If you have any questions regarding the consultation, please get in touch by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Read more …Stoulton Conservation Area changes consultation

Corporate Peer Challenge

In October 2024, we participated in a Corporate Peer Challenge run by the Local Government Association.

Corporate Peer Challenge is a tried and trusted tool for improvement offered to councils. It involves a team of senior local government officers and councillors spending time at a council to provide challenge, offer feedback and share learning. 

All Corporate Peer Challenges focus on the five core components listed below:

  • local priorities and outcomes
  • organisational and place leadership
  • governance and culture
  • financial planning and management
  • capacity for improvement

In addition, we asked our peer team for some feedback about our approach to customer services and overall customer experience.

During their three-day visit to Wychavon, the team gathered information and views from around 45 meetings, went on two mini-tours of parts of the district and carried out further research and reading. They spoke to more than 120 people, including employees, councillors and a range of our partners, external organisations and residents.

The peer team’s report provides a summary of the team’s findings and sets out some recommendations to help us progress from ‘good to great’. We welcome the positive feedback and the useful areas for improvement and recommendations.

Our action plan in response to the peer team’s feedback and recommendations contains a mix of quick wins to be delivered within 12 months and longer-term actions to be delivered by the end of 2027.

Four members of the peer team revisited us on 25 October 2025 to undertake a progress review. This focussed on the eight recommendations from our Corporate Peer Challenge and our progress in implementing them. You can read the feedback from our progress review below.

You can read the position statement we shared with the team before their visit to Wychavon:  pdf Corporate Peer Challenge position statement (5.99 MB)

You can read the peer team’s feedback report: pdf Wychavon CPC Report (716 KB)

Read our pdf Peer Challenge action plan (1.61 MB) .

Read the feedback from our progress review and add the attached document.

pdf CPC Progress Review Report (403 KB)

For more information contact

Cherrie Mansfield
Head of Strategy and Engagement
01386 565508
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We Are Wychavon Plan

In this section

The We Are Wychavon Plan is our commitment to you about how we will improve the district over the next four years to make it an even better place to live work and visit. 

The plan has been put together based on feedback from our residents' survey, young person's survey, Local Democracy Day event, input from staff and councillors and information about the local needs of the district.

There are 27 promises in the plan based on our three priorities of People, Place and Environment. 

We will review the plan every 12 months and remove completed promises and add in new ones. We will also publish updates on this page about the progress we are making towards achieving our promises.

People

A woman on the phone

Vision: Providing opportunities for everyone, raising young people’s aspirations and helping people to live healthier lives.

Our People promises are:

  • Support the development of the existing health and wellbeing hubs and introduce tailored health and wellbeing support in at least ten villages by 31 March 2028.
  • Train people in communities and workplaces to champion health and wellbeing and signpost to appropriate support by 31 March 2026.
  • Deliver support, information and advice for families to give children the best start in life and education by 31 March 2026.
  • Work with schools and early years providers to deliver programmes so more free school meal eligible children reach a good level of development by 31 March 2028.
  • Identify households at risk of hardship and provide preventative advice and support by 31 March 2028.
  • Identify the need for community-led rural transport projects and use this to target our Ticket to Ride fund by 31 March 2028.
  • Develop five new community youth projects in rural areas by 31 March 2028.
  • Extend our social mobility small grants scheme to increase activities and opportunities for more young people by 31 March 2027.

Place

A woman hugging a tree.

Vision: Helping everyone to access a good place to live, supporting businesses to thrive and creating vibrant and accessible places.

Our Place promises are:

  • Promote the benefits of and provide support to significantly increase the coverage of neighbourhood plans to help shape the future development of local communities by 31 March 2028.
  • Use neighbourhood plans and the South Worcestershire Development Plan to increase the amount and quality of affordable housing to meet local needs and build 12 new homes for rent by 31 March 2028.
  • Bring at least 30 long-term empty properties back into use by 31 March 2028
  • Create at least 15 temporary housing places to reduce the number of homeless people in B&Bs by 31 March 2028.
  • Create a new housing facility in the north of the district to provide support to homeless young people so they can move on to independent homes by 31 March 2028.
  • Invest in the development of small business units in at least two locations across the district by 31 March 2028.
  • Raise career aspirations for adults and young people including creating school-business partnerships to connect people with local employers and training opportunities by 31 March 2028.
  • Drive investment in the key sites identified in the town centre prospectuses including the Riverside Centre in Evesham, Droitwich Spa lido and reconnecting Pershore with the riverside by 31 March 2028.
  • Work with our Place Boards to help our town centres reach their potential as accessible destinations offering essential services, diverse shops and vibrant leisure experiences by 31 March 2028.

Environment

A man holding a clipboard

Vision: Boosting our natural environment, cutting carbon emissions and building resilience to climate change.

Our Environment promises are:

  • Run a four-year engagement and information campaign to support residents to enhance biodiversity, respond to climate change and minimise waste by 31 March 2028.
  • Restore and improve 28 hectares of priority habitats at Fish Hill, Broadway including semi-natural woodland and culturally significant landscapes by 31 March 2028.
  • Increase biodiversity and natural assets in our parks and green spaces and increase their resilience to climate change while retaining their value for users by 31 March 2028.
  • Continue to deliver actions in our Intelligently Green Plan to reduce our carbon footprint including significantly cutting emissions from our leisure centres by 31 March 2028.
  • Develop and start to deliver an adaptation plan to make our services more resilient to the impacts of climate change by 31 March 2028.
  • Support small businesses to access training, receive specialist support or grant funding to respond to climate change by 31 March 2028.
  • Support communities to develop local plans to increase resilience to the impacts of climate change and prepare for emergencies by 31 March 2028.
  • Pilot new bike hire schemes at Droitwich, Evesham and Pershore railway stations by 31 March 2026.
  • Lead the creation of a health corridor for cycling, walking and wildlife following the route of the canal and river from Droitwich to Churchfields by 31 March 2028.
  • Work with partners to develop a plan for reducing traffic congestion in Evesham and deliver a new cycling and walking route between the town centre and the surrounding areas by 31 March 2028. 

Read more …We Are Wychavon Plan

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