Councillor Breached Code Of Conduct Over Spango Valley Plan

Complaints against an Inverclyde Councillor by Inverclyde businessmen Sandy and James Easdale have been upheld.

Councillor Innes Nelson has been found to have breached the code of conduct for councillors about a planning application made by the Easdales for the former IBM site at Spango Valley, Greenock.

The Easdales’s legal advisers lodged several complaints against Councillor Nelson with the Ethical Standards Commissioner in Edinburgh.

Their investigating officer has now responded stating: “The Commissioner noted that Cllr Nelson was directly involved in the consideration of the application by the planning committee and his property is located on the other side of a dual carriageway from the Application’s site.

“The commissioner was of the view that members of the public with knowledge of the relevant facts, being that Cllr Nelson lived on the opposite side of the dual carriageway, had failed to declare this, motioned for a site visit and subsequently proposed the number of houses to be restricted, would be concerned by the respondent’s [Cllr Nelson’s] lack of candour in this regard.”

It was agreed that Councillor Nelson had breached the code which seeks to ensure that every councillor considers their connection to each matter that they become involved with.

The commissioner considered that a member of the public with knowledge of the relevant facts would reasonably regard the respondent’s connection to the application as being so significant that it would be regarded as being likely to influence the discussion and the decision-making at the meeting.

The owner or resident on the land that is adjacent to the site would normally be affected by the application, whether by building works, the number of dwelling houses erected, the number of new families moving into the area, and the attendant impact on amenities and facilities common to the immediate area.

Councillor Nelson and Inverclyde Council have been informed of the decision. The Ethical Standards Commissioner will now forward their findings to The Standards Commission for Scotland.

Originally the application was for 450 houses as part of a mixed-use development which would include retail, leisure and commercial units.

The Easdales were then shocked in March 2022 to be told that the council would only allow 270 houses which made the entire project unviable.

The brothers then undertook a time-consuming and costly process to get the housing limit overturned. In March 2023, permission was finally given to build 450 houses.

Sandy Easdale said: “Councillor Nelson is a disgrace to his party, his town and the people of Greenock. He needs to quit or be kicked off the council.

“Now we await the Standards Commission to give their views of Councillor Nelson’s dereliction of duty and we trust that will not take a year like the Ethical Standards Commissioner did.”

He added: “These appalling delays have cost millions. Please remember when we bought the site, we were in a pre-pandemic world.

"Now we are facing increasing interest rates, and labour and material costs have rocketed.

"On top of that, our legal and architectural costs to get this plan through Inverclyde Council have been substantial.”