If you strip away all the standing orders and policy papers Parish Councils are pretty simple organisations.
Councillors stand in order to represent the views of all residents within the Parish and to listen to, and understand, the needs of different groups in the community.
Councillors make decisions and the Parish Clerk records those decisions and implements them.
This does not happen in Shiptonthorpe where Councillor Gough has undertaken tasks which would normally be carried out by the clerk. In the past this has involved him directly approaching the councils solicitors about the village hall lease.
The following declaration from Cllr Gough is included in the minutes of the council meeting held on 16th October 2025:
I confirm that I have incurred personal costs totalling approximately £3,600 in connection with matters relating to the village hall portfolio, land registration, lease documentation, and associated data recovery. These costs were incurred voluntarily and without any prior authorisation from the Parish Council or East Riding of Yorkshire Council. I hereby waive any and all rights to reimbursement or financial compensation for these costs. I will not seek, and will not accept, any payment or reimbursement from the Parish Council, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, or any related body now or in the future.
This is not normal behaviour for a parish councillor. Any actions and associated expenditure should have been agreed by the council before it took place and the tasks should have been carried out by the clerk not a councillor.
Interesting to note that Cllr Gough actually admits spending his own money on data recovery. I’ll leave it to any legal experts to judge whether or not this was within the law.
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