A SENIOR Tory councillor has called his party colleague "a prat" because he resigned from Brentwood Borough Council's highways committee on a matter of principle.
The outburst from Cllr Keith Parker, who is due to stand in the county council elections next year, came after he learned on Thursday of William Lloyd's intention to step down from the panel that Cllr Parker chairs because he believes its existence is "misleading" and meaningless.
Cllr Parker told the Gazette: "Do you want to know what I think? He's a prat."
It is not the first time Cllr Parker has caused a rumpus with his comments.
In June last year, he was warned by the council's standards committee after he used the word "queen" when referring to the gay community during a debate in 2010.
Cllr Lloyd, a member for Warley, insists that staging the Parking, Borough Project Liaison and Highways Localism Panel meetings at Brentwood Town Hall is an expensive waste of more than £15,000 of taxpayers' cash each year.
He said his mind was made up after attending the two meetings since he joined the panel following a reshuffle by leader Louise McKinlay in May.
On one occasion the panel spent 15 minutes debating if it had the right name and on another he says it was pressed into voting on a road scheme that was going ahead anyway because the county council had already agreed to it.
Cllr Lloyd said: "There is no highways control or involvement in Brentwood any more and, in my opinion, I think it's actually misleading to the residents to have these meetings and pretend there is."
He also believes the committee is a convenient shield for Essex County Council.
"We waste three hours of the council's time and public money because it costs us to be sat there," he added.
"Our [Brentwood] councillors cost next to nothing but we have got officers there and people travelling in from across the county and then there are costs of opening the town hall in the evening."
Brentwood Borough Council estimates the cost of running one panel to be £15,000 each year, excluding expenses incurred by the attendance of Essex County Council.
He added: "Democracy costs money and it's an essential cost if you are making decisions and getting things done, but if you are not improving things and delivering better services then it is a waste of money."
Fellow Tory, Cllr Nigel Clarke has hinted he may also walk from Mr Parker's panel for the same reasons and, during the last highways panel meeting on September 19, the mayor of Brentwood, Cllr Ann Coe, described the panel's business as "frustrating".
In March, the Gazette revealed Essex County Council's plan to claw back power from Brentwood, by taking control of its £2.5 million roads, congestion and pedestrian safety budget, leaving Brentwood councillors with no overall say on how it is spent.
Cllr Parker was upset at Cllr Lloyd's assertions that his committee is a waste of time, insisting that highways is just a small part of its work, which also includes off-street parking charges, big projects such as William Hunter Way and dealing with the utility companies digging up Brentwood's roads.
He added: "I feel slightly annoyed that he is suggesting that we are not working.
"I have been virtually living at the town hall trying to bring all these things to fruition."
"There is a certain amount of dissatisfaction from different people that are unhappy highways has changed and this is a way of venting their spleen."
