A LEDBURY town councillor who has been sanctioned by the town council for almost two years, following accusations of bullying, is asking when he will be allowed to vote and speak again as a councillor, at committee meetings.

But the town council has ruled that Cllr Andrew Harrison will have to wait until a new grievance procedure is in place, before his situation can be reviewed again.

And the new procedure will not be in place until April, at the earliest, and even then there is no guarantee that the sanctions against Cllr Harrison will be lifted.

And the process also depends on the outcome of a Judicial Review, brought against the town council by Cllr Liz Harvey, who together with Cllr Harrison was found guilty of bullying staff, under employment law.

Cllr Harrison said he could "state categorically" that he did not bully or harass Ledbury Town Council staff.

He said: "The allegations against me were dismissed after an exhaustive official independent investigation."

Cllr Harrison, and also Cllr Harvey, were found guilty by the town council of bullying town council staff, under employment law; but a Code of Conduct investigation by Herefordshire Council subsequently found both councillors not to be in breach of the Code, which governs how councillors must treat other people.

Cllr Harrison said: "Even so, Ledbury Town Council imposed draconian sanctions on me which have blocked me from fulfilling my duties as an elected councillor."

Ledbury Town Council says they are not sanctions but ‘protective measures’ to protect staff.

As an elected councillor, Cllr Harrison may still speak and vote at full town council meetings, but not committee meetings.

A full town council meeting on November 2 ended up by being suspended and cut short, after Cllr Harrison asked to be reinstated on council committees, following his long ban, and then refused to sit down.

At that meeting, Ledbury's mayor, Cllr Elaine Fieldhouse, banged the chairman's gavel and asked Cllr Andrew Harrison to sit down on several occasions, but to no avail, while Cllr Harrison described the situation as "shocking and embarrassing".

Cllr Harrison said this week: "I am still unaware of the findings of the Ledbury Town Council’s May 2017 Review Panel into my conduct."

This was one year on from the original sanctions.

Cllr Harrison added: "I do not know the reason why I have been banned and I have no idea what I am supposed to do to have the ban lifted."

Ledbury Town Council was asked for an official comment concerning the issue.

Town Clerk, Karen Mitchell, by way of response directed the Ledbury Reporter to council minutes.