THREE members of Christchurch’s planning committee have come under fire for their behaviour.

The review of Christchurch Borough Council’s planning committee was launched after the authority was identified as being at risk of designation as poorly performing.

A report detailing the findings was leaked online and says several Christchurch members “raised concerns about the behaviour of a few of their colleagues”.

After peers observed November’s planning committee meeting, they claim one member had adopted a “mocking tone” and highlighted issues with two other councillors.

The review says such behaviour did not make the committee look professional.

Cllr David Jones, who is often an outspoken member of the planning committee, said: “My duty as a councillor is to represent my constituents individually and collectively.

“If my constituents raise concerns and I feel these are based on materially planning conditions then I will take these to committee. The committee is not there to rubber stamp the views of officers.”

The review of the committee, which is made up of 10 Conservative councillors and one independent, says a range of improvements have been made and recent performance has shown improvement.

Planning committee chair Cllr Lesley Dedman said: “Overall the committee is very well run and comes to the right decisions.

“The review was carried out in part because the planning committee had lost a couple of appeals, but we are now working more effectively with the officers and I think this is reflected in the report.”

“It was a snapshot of the night, but we are working far better as a committee. On the night the peers thought it was not as good as they might like but there has been a lot of change with the officers and now we are on an even keel.”