ALL is not well at Richmondshire District Council.

Councillors have been accused of bullying officers, officers have been accused of breaking rules, and both staff and members have incurred the wrath of residents over a proposal to sell property in Richmond to fund new offices in Colburn.

The situation came to a head last month when Tory councillor John Blackie was replaced as leader by Councillor Bill Glover, leader of the newly-formed Independent Coalition for Richmondshire group.

Although Coun Glover, 63, has only represented Colburn for two-and-a-half years, he worked in local government for 30 years before his retirement.

He believes this experience, in environmental health and housing, in Richmond, Darlington and Middlesbrough, will be invaluable to get the authority back on track.

He says his first task is to repair strained relationships between officers and councillors and then get the political groups working together.

But he admits this is no easy job.

The task will then be to oversee some of the biggest changes in the authority's history.

Coun Glover, who lives in Colburn with his wife, Susan, said: "There are three main issues over which the council has received criticism from the Audit Commission.

"The first is the political arrangements, the second is the staffing structure and the third is the officers' accommodation.

"We're in the middle of tackling all three things."

The council aims to introduce a new political structure in May next year.

The system is based on one adopted by Tynedale District Council.

A management board made up of 11 members from all political groups will make the big decisions, with individual councillors given portfolios for the different tasks of the council.

Coun Glover says the system will be more efficient and transparent to voters.

Changes to the staffing structure are already under way.

This leaves possibly the biggest challenge for the new leader - sorting out the row over the council's proposed new headquarters.

More than 7,000 residents signed a petition against the sale of council assets in Richmond to fund new offices in Colburn. Opponents say the move is unnecessary.

There is also widespread concern about the impact of the relocation on the economy of Richmond.

However, Government inspectors say the current accommodation is not good enough.

Coun Glover says he personally believes the move should go ahead.

"In terms of efficiency, in terms of cost savings it appears to stack up," he says.

However, the leader says there is still work to be done before a final decision is made, adding that a decision would be made as quickly as possible.

"The Independent group is prepared to make some decisions on this," he said.

"Other political groups have not been prepared to grasp the nettle, but we can't let this drag on - we must make a decision one way or the other."

The new leader is putting aside at least two days a week to work with officers, who he described as the council's biggest asset.

He said: "I'm looking forward to the challenge and I'm totally committed to my new role. There's an awful lot of work to do."