‘No wrongdoing’ over housing plans

Royal Borough: Councillor under investigation insists he’s innocent

A Royal Borough councillor has affirmed his ‘innocence of any wrongdoing’ after fresh questions emerged over his links to companies involved in a controversial planning application.

Last month, the Express shared details of an independent report which found Cllr Ross McWilliams (Con, Cox Green) had breached the code of conduct by bringing the council into disrepute after he ignored the monitoring officer’s advice not to participate in the planning panel.

The report was commissioned following multiple complaints regarding Cllr McWilliams’ involvement in the vote on plans for Deerswood Meadow, Maidenhead, despite being employed by BECG (Built Environment Communications Group) – a company which did communication

work for applicant CALA Homes.

The plans were approved on the night but have since been withdrawn.

Since that meeting, Cllr McWilliams has taken up a different role with another company which was involved in the controversial application.

According to his register of interests, Cllr McWilliams started a new role as a senior account director at consultancy firm Grayling Communications on

April 1 this year – fourand-a-half months after the contentious planning meeting.

Following the

November approval, Grayling shared a post on LinkedIn, which stated: “The Grayling Engage team [part of the same company] are thrilled to announce that CALA Thames’ application for 80 new homes, has been approved by the Maidenhead Development Management Committee!

“The team have supported CALA on this exciting application over the last 18 months.”

Cllr McWilliams has also previously been employed by Four Communications Group, a company which was involved in a separate, nearidentical application for Deerswood Meadow by CALA Homes.

Four Communications Group provided public affairs services for the application (19/01140/FULL) which was refused permission by the Maidenhead area development management panel on February 19, 2020.

Cllr McWilliams, who was employed by Four Communications between December 2018 and January last year, was present as a nonvoting member, according to the minutes on the council’s website.

Cllr McWilliams said he could not comment on the investigator’s report prior to a sub-committee meeting into whether he breached the council’s code of conduct later this year.

However, he re-affirmed his ‘innocence of any wrongdoing’ when contacted by the Express about his links to companies involved in applications for the site.

“I believe that I have at all times acted properly and professionally in the best interests of the council and within its rules, as well as in the best interests of the residents of Maidenhead and the whole borough, as was and is my duty to them,” said Cllr McWilliams.

“I have also scrupulously kept my professional and political lives entirely separate.”