A Lichfield councillor has apologised for breaching the code of conduct during a debate around the future of Friary Grange Leisure Centre.
Cllr Jamie Checkland remained in the chamber for a meeting of the council on Tuesday (16th July) while a discussion took place over plans to defer a final decision on whether or not to close the facility.
But he had previously declared an interest in the meeting and should have left.
Cllr Checkland said: As chair of governors at The Friary School I declared a non-pecuniary interest in the subject at the beginning of the meeting.
“Due to the last minute change in the agenda to bring the Friary Grange discussion forward, as a new councillor and in all innocence, I remained in the room waiting for an indication as to when I should leave.
“I apologise for this breach of the code of conduct and am now working with the monitoring officer to understand the protocols of our meetings more fully.”
Cllr Checkland had previously told residents at a public meeting after insisting the children of The Friary School were his priority.
He also said the school wanted its facilities back – comments led to criticism from independent counterpart Cllr Joanne Grage, who questioned whether there was a conflict of interest in his position as a councillor and a governor.
