A COUNCILLOR could face disqualification after speaking out on behalf of residents at a planning meeting.

Councillor Chris Foote Wood was told by legal advisors that he should declare a prejudicial interest in proceedings relating to plans for the conversion of a former pub in Close House, near Bishop Auckland, and leave the meeting until the proposals had been discussed.

But Coun Foote Wood refused to take the advice and said that despite the fact he might be disqualified from being a councillor for speaking out he felt too strongly about the plans not to.

He urged Wear Valley District councillors at the development control meeting, in Crook, to reject plans to convert the Royal Hotel pub into nine apartments.

He said: "This is such an important issue that I am prepared to go against advice and speak."

Coun Foote Wood, who is also chairman of Dene Valley Parish Council, has openly campaigned, with fellow councillor Dorothy Burn, for the introduction of traffic control measures on the road alongside the Royal Hotel.

He told councillors that he believed parking at the proposed development would be too dangerous.

Coun Foote Wood spoke after John Bennett, who has lived in the village all his life, addressed councillors about residents' concerns.

Mr Bennett said: "The parking facilities for these bedsits will probably prove to be disastrous, because the vehicles will either have to reverse on to a main road with a very sharp blind bend, or will have to pull across the road to reverse into the parking bays. The cars will also have to drive over a footpath.''

Mr Bennett told councillors that when he was a child he had been knocked down by a car which had swerved to avoid colliding with another vehicle that had been reversing out of the hotel car park.

He said: "I know from personal experience how dangerous it is. I am lucky to be here at all."

Mr Bennett also said that the proposals would take away the privacy of nearby householders, with one bay window of the new building being only 6.4 metres away from one of the houses.

Councillors deferred the proposals in order to discuss them further with the developer and Durham County Council, which is the highways authority.