A PARISH council chairman has been officially reprimanded after trying to prevent a barn development near his home.

Coun David Holden was chairman of North Turton Parish Council in February 2003 when he failed to declare a personal and prejudicial interest in the planning application for Isherwood Fold - 50 metres away from his house.

A Standards Committee hearing panel decided Coun Holden, who has 20 years' service, broke the councillors' code of practice by objecting to the application.

Joanne Miller and Mr Currie successfully applied to Blackburn with Darwen Council to demolish the barn and rebuild a larger property using the original materials.

Miss Miller and Mr Currie complained to the Standards Board for England about the way their application had been dealt with by the parish council.

The code of conduct for parish councils, issued in 2002, states that if members have a personal interest in any matter they must disclose it and if it was likely to prejudice their decision they should withdraw from the room. In the parish council meeting last year there were three councillors present, including Coun Holden, who spoke from a prepared statement to object to the plan, the hearing heard.

The statement was then used to set out the parish council's position on the application to be sent to Blackburn with Darwen Council.

The hearing heard that prior to the meeting Coun Holden had sought advice from Leonard Watson, county adviser for Lancashire Association of Town and Parish Councils, over whether there was a conflict of interest.

Mr Watson advised Coun Holden there would be no problem and he was acting within the rules by objecting in his position as a parish councillor. But the panel decided Coun Holden had broken the code.

Claire Lefort, solicitor for the Standards Board for England, said: "He has taken no account of public perception of his actions. He did participate in the meeting and he was influential.

"He has shown today that he does not accept that he had a prejudicial interest and there is nothing to suggest that he would take a different approach in a future matter."

Laurence Loft, chairman of the panel, recommended a censure against Coun Holden and ordered him to seek training on the code of practice.

Afterwards, Coun Holden said: "I am very disappointed with the decision. There was no deliberate attempt to break the rules and I found the rules very confusing.

"There was no guidance in any book I saw and my council received no advice from anybody about the code.

"I am a lay person doing my best. I believe my actions were in good faith at all times to represent the community who elected me."