THE Craven councillor thrown off the authority for his non attendance of meetings over the last six months has hit back, claiming he was not offered the level of support suggested.

David Pighills, Craven District Council's member for Barden Fell, was expelled from the council late last month. Council officers have said Mr Pighills - who lives in a remote area with poor internet connection - was offered support, including the offer of a room in the council offices so he could attend the virtual meetings.

But Mr Pighills has hit back, claiming members were not offered the level of support suggested, and that throughout the coronavirus pandemic, he has continued to carry out his role as councillor by interacting with his parish councils.

He said: "The press releases issued by Craven District Council are at best misleading. We were not offered the level of support that the chief executive suggests and one of my colleagues has taken this up with the council.

"Despite the claims of officers to the contrary , I did respond when they sent me paperwork, but my response was ignored by them.

"Throughout the pandemic I have continued to interact with my parish councils and parish meetings, as readers will be aware from the support they offered in your paper last week."

Mr Pighills says he is not prepared to let his constituents down by leaving them unrepresented indefinitely and will continue to carry out his duties.

He has also been supported by the area's county councillor, and fellow district councillor, Robert Heseltine who is calling on the council to reinstate Mr Pighills to the Barden Fell ward.

"Cllr David Pighills is a very valued and highly respected member of CDC and an extremely effective representative of his electorate.

"It appears CDC could and should have managed this situation differently and better during these unprecedented times of Covid-19 lockdown. Re instatement is surely the morally correct and much needed outcome for the residents of Barden Fell ward and of course the reputation of CDC," said Cllr Heseltine.

Paul Ellis, director of services at Craven District Council, said: “We did not wish to see the Barden Fell ward without representation and we have taken a number of steps to help Mr Pighills attend meetings.

“When we began putting plans in place to hold virtual meetings due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we gave all councillors the opportunity to put alternative arrangements in place in order to attend meetings online, if they had difficulty with poor internet and phone signals.

“We agreed the provision of a separate meeting room at Belle Vue Square in Skipton which could be used by a councillor for Council and committee meetings if they were unable to join these from home.

“We also ensured that members were able to dial in to meetings from a phone line if they wished to do so. We also contacted members by post and sent meeting papers if they had no access to email.

“The Local Government Act 1972 is quite clear that if there is no attendance for six months, the councillor ceases to be a member of the council.”

* See letters to the editor, online and in the paper.