THE leader of Malvern Hills District Council is battling to save his career – and is facing calls to resign or be forced out.

Conservative councillor David Hughes will face a motion of ‘no confidence’ on Monday over the controversies surrounding the South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP).

The motion claims he has “brought the council into disrepute” and refers to “a lack of open, transparent and democratic leadership”

after the housing blueprint was voted down during a meeting last month.

It has been put forward by two opposition councillors after Coun Hughes insisted politicians “did not fully realise the implications”

of the move.

He has asked them for a fresh vote on Monday, and has appealed to the critics to change their minds.

Coun Julian Roskams, one of the motion’s authors, said: “We made a very clear decision, but now he is saying ‘give it another chance’.

“The whole process has been an absolute absurdity.

First he said he accepted the decision, but now he’s saying go and vote again.

“To suggest we did not realise the implications of what we were doing is insulting. We’ve lost faith in the whole process, and lost confidence in him as the leader.”

Coun Clive Smith, the motion’s second author, said Coun Hughes was “totally divorced from reality”. The motion also calls for deputy leader Paul Swinburn to be removed amid claims both have neglected their duties.

Coun Hughes dismissed the motion as a “personal attack”.

“This has come out the blue and I totally refute all of the allegations in it,” he said. “If this is an attempt to sabotage the SWDP, it is a waste of everyone’s time and an unnecessary sideshow. I’ve been as open as I can be throughout the whole process and we should not be playing games.”

Last month MHDC opted to send the SWDP, which earmarks land for 23,000 homes across south Worcestershire by 2030, back to the drawing board following concerns over certain allocations, particularly 700 houses at Newland.

Heather Jeavons, chairman of Newland Parish Council, is urging councillors to “stand firm” on their decision.

During Monday’s meeting, in the Bank House at Bransford at 7.30pm, councillors will vote to either accept the document as it is or reject it for good.

  • Malvern Hills District Council (MHDC) has been warned it could face a legal challenge if it does not approve the SWDP.

Worcester City Council has given “advance notice”

of a potential judicial review, saying MHDC’s decision to vote down the document was “unsound”.

An MHDC spokesman said: “MHDC is unlikely to know whether the judicial review is definitely going ahead or not until after its meeting on the 10 December, but in the meantime its officers are seeking detailed legal advice about how to proceed.”

  • An ordinary full council meeting originally scheduled to take place before Malvern Hills DIstrict Council’s special meeting to discuss the SWDP on Monday has been postponed.

It is now taking place at 7pm on Thursday, December 20, at the council chamber, in Avenue Road, Malvern.