A PARISH council believes it has now sorted out its problems after members were the subject of a tide of complaints.

Vice-chairman of Hurworth Parish Council Ken Pattinson says the council is now heading in the right direction after 18 complaints were made between 2007 and 2009.

A Darlington Borough Council report has revealed the allegations represented about two-thirds of the total number of Standards Board complaints against all borough or parish councillors in the Darlington area.

Between 2002 and 2006, there were no complaints about parish councillors in Darlington, and only four were received between 2009 and the present day.

Although not all details about who made the Hurworth allegations and who the allegations were about have been made public, many of the complaints relate to parish councillors reporting their fellow members.

Complaints which were thrown out related to allegations of bullying, the alleged harassment of a parish council clerk and intimidating fellow councillors and complainants.

In these cases, which totalled 13 of the 18 complaints, no failure to comply with the Standards Board code was found. The remaining five complaints related to an alleged failure to declare prejudicial interests and the disclosing of confidential information.

Four of the five complaints were classed as a failure to comply with the code, but the Standards Board ruled the councillors concerned were acting in good faith and had simply misunderstood the rules. Both members were ordered to complete further training.

The period was also tumultuous for the council as it lost two clerks in the space of a year, with both citing problems with councillors as the reason.

Speaking about the complaints, Coun Pattinson said: “I would be very disappointed if that trend continued. I think the situation has markedly improved.

“All the indications are things are being done in an appropriate manner.

“I think (the failures to comply with the code) was largely down to inexperience and lack of awareness.

“One of the things which was resolved in the meeting last week is how we can ensure that new councillors coming in can be supported and trained right from the start. As far as we’re all concerned, it’s a thing of the past.

“I think all the council has learnt from that and we are now going forward and moving on.”