To ask why my parish council can bully me for 2 years and get away with it?

[Pariahoftheparish]

Very, very long back story. We live in a small parish where everyone knows everyone's business. We are renovating an old rectory, which is grade 2 listed and there is a public footpath across our property from the main street to the church.
For the last 2 years we have been bullied by the parish council (pc). They have discussed our property in open meetings and have published defamatory comments in minutes online, giving our name or the property name. For example, they have claimed that we have vermin, have blocked the public footpath and have a collapsed drain. All of these allegations have been reported to the district and county councils, who have investigated and said it is all untrue. This is never reported back. There are many other examples. We have been mentioned in the minutes every 6 weeks for 18 months.
Our DD has been bullied on social media by village kids who have spoken about council complaints. She would not leave the house for several weeks and has struggled at school.
The councillors are encouraging their friends to attend meetings to complain about us.

We had a brief respite for 6 months when we were persuaded to withdraw a complaint to the ICO in return for them leaving us alone. However, they are now continuing their campaign by trying to restrict access to our property across parish land and they are encouraging other parish organisations to make their own complaints about us.

The ICO complaint has been submitted and the pc have been contacted by the ICO. The pc are now editing their minutes (not sure that's legal!) but the original documents are still online. The changes they have made still enable us to be identified.
We have made a formal complaint to the pc which was ignored. The Monitoring Officer at the district council has indicated that they only intervene if there is a problem with pecuniary interests, our MP didn't want to get involved and the police will only deal with harassment issues if it is a person, not an organisation.

Has anybody else had similar problems? Any advice?
So, AIBU to think that the parish council should not be able to get away with this behaviour?

Would it be fair to say that these issues started after you opposed someone else's planning application which was approved?
Do you have CCTV facing your neighbours?
How has the adult son threatened you?
Do you feel that you have done absolutely nothing that could have brought on the PCs behaviours?

I suspect that the p.c. has now been guilty of both slander and libel.

You need a solicitor who can write a stern letter and put the wind up them.

Have you tried talking the NALC, the national association, or the county version of NALC to see if they can help or make any suggestions?

My parents had a nightmare with their PC - though nowhere near as bad as yours sounds. One councillor had wanted to buy a field that my DF ended up buying 20 years before - he persuaded the entire PC to vote down their application to convert their garage into a bungalow for my grandfather and at one point was trying to tell them that they would have to remove the garage too (it was a former pigshed that had been at the property since it was built in the 40s). The ombudsman blasted the PC and said it was exactly the type of development that should be encouraged. My DGF had to struggle in his big old house for two extra years before he could move into the bungalow. No discipline for any of the PC though. It seems crazy that these ridiculous people can get away with being so biased and self-interested. Hope you get it sorted and that your DD is okay.

The Monitoring Officer at the district council has indicated that they only intervene if there is a problem with pecuniary interests,

The monitoring officer is not doing their job.
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/777315/6.4896_CO_CSPL_Command_Paper_on_Local_Government_Standards_v4_WEB.PDF This has not yet become law but this quote is applicable;
"Under the Localism Act, a parish council
may comply with the duty to adopt a code of
conduct by adopting the code of its principal
authority, or by adopting its own code."
Ask for a copy of the Code of Conduct of your Parish Council. There is usually something in there about bringing the PC into disrepute & not behaving respectfully to others. That includes members of the public (and is interpreted as at a higher threshold than when communicating with another councillor). There may also be specific reference to 'not bullying'.

Put your complaint in writing to the monitoring officer.

Did the start of the problems coincide with you starting renovations? The pc can't bully you but they can't be held responsible for your DD being bullied and as a PP said if there's a public right of way then they will be able to discuss it at meetings.
Rights of access and renovations are both very contentious issues.
I appreciate you're finding this stressful but rather than pulling records and calling the police, you need to try to find an amicable solution if you're intending to sell.
One option would be enlist the help of a professional (planning consultant/solicitor) to represent you at meetings and act as an intermediary. Another option would be to ask someone to act as mediator in meetings between you and the pc. The third option is to sell and just inform the prospective purchaser of the issues. Sometimes a new person and new approach can get different results.

I’m with the PP who said they would attend with a legal representative.

Do you respond in writing to every issue raised about you and your property?

Another question - is your CCTV facing on to the public path?

When you say they discussed your property in a public meeting, do you mean they discussed an issue raised by a parishioner at a PC meeting, which would require disclosing the name of the property ? Or planning matters which would also be a legitimate reason to disclose the name of your property ?
As a previous parish councillor you will be well aware the PC has very limited powers when it comes to planning applications and the reasons for objecting to planning are very limited.
However it all sounds like a complete nightmare for you , can you contact your borough councillor to intervene ?

This sounds like defamation and slander, I’d suggest you sue them.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll try to answer the questions:
The CCTV monitors the public footpath and our property, the police have said this is fully compliant. We installed it because people were using the path as a toilet and CCTV protects everyone who uses it properly.
Renovations started 20 years ago but it's cosmetic stuff now - no noise and no disruption to neighbours.
No intention to sell - not giving in to bullies!
DD is being bullied because of the lies the pc has published.
The county version of NALC will only deal with the pc.
Why is the comment about "village kids" revealing?
Not bothered about the public footpath - no issues for 18 years. It's just been a stick for them to beat us with for the last 2 years.

If you can settle this informally by requesting a meeting to discuss your issues, or by attending parish council meetings then I would do so. If that ship has sailed you may need to go down a more formal route. Parish councils are a hotbed of this sort of thing. Is the whole parish council against you, or are the complaints brought by a particular councillor(s)? If so, you may be able to raise a complaint against them which the district council is obliged to investigate. All councillors are obliged to follow the Councillor Code of Conduct and if you have good evidence that their behaviour is falling short of the standards in public life (The Nolan Principles) then you may have a legitimate complaint. In the first instance I would contact the Monitoring Officer in the DC (their assertion that they are only deal with pecuniary matters is completely untrue - they are obliged to deal with all complaints) and ask for a complaint form. They must complete at least an initial investigation within 2 weeks.

If you do complete the form make sure it is entirely factual - where and how they have broken the CCOC - dates, times, copies of minutes, evidence of bullying and anything else you can get your hands on. I would also, if there is the opportunity to do so, explain how you want the situation to be resolved. Make sure that you are not breaking any laws or byelaws, and reflect on whether a bit of friendly compromise on your side will lead to a reduction of hostilities.

I feel for you and your family. I’ve dealt with many parish councils and some of them are run like mini fiefdoms. As much as it may grate your craw, if the original issue is relatively minor, a bit of charm and compromise is 100 times more effective than a bulldozer.

do you have a local magazine ? as they seem free to make false accusations about you in public - perhaps you should do the same to them . write a short resume of the false accusations. Confirm you have proof that they are false and make it clear that you will be taking legal action if they continue to defame your name in public meetings . Confirm you want to move forward without any further action but that you will not be bullied .

Blimey. Sounds horrendous.

But I thought you'd say you recently brought and moved in.

Not that this started 18years after residing in the property.

I know nothing about legal side but I would wonder if there is some defamation involved here if it's personal attacks creeping in.

I was witness from a District Council officer perspective of something similar to a local resident by a parish council within the District I worked for. The harassment was awful and similar to what you describe. The District Councils monitoring officer eventually got involved and it stopped but they had done damage to the business and the persons mental well-being and she sold up (similar listed building/footpath/public access “local shop for local people” issues.

Although this particular issue had nothing to do directly with me that particular parish council is partially the reason I left the District Council and why I have a LinkedIn profile. They were bullies, who lied and discussed me and other Council officers in a derogatory fashion at council meetings all recorded on their website. Keep complaining and don’t let them get you down.

If the monitoring officer doesn’t get involved you might be able to complaint to the Local Govt Ombudman once you have gone through the complaints procedure.

If parish councils are organisations which should comply with a SAR and they haven’t done you can report to the ICO for failure to comply.

the reason I left the District Council and why I have a LinkedIn profile.

Eh? How does having a Linkedin profile help?

Exactly how is your CCTV going to stop people pissing on the public path exactly? Are you intending to issue them with a ticket or something? How is it protecting anyone?

These things don’t generally start out of nowhere - who did you piss off and why?

Haha you've never lived in a village then? We did for 2 years and our neighbour poisoned our hanging basket because I didn't speak to her one day. I smiled but was walking with my friend who was talking through his plans for his mums funeral. It wasn't the time for neighbourly pleasantries. Dm is now a parish councillor in their Devon village and has experience outright sexism, bribery and general nastiness. She only been on the pc for 6 months! Sadly, despite many genuinely wanting to help, many seem to be egotistical idiots making up for something that lacked in their career.

I would ask for county council's findings to be minuted as claims were proven defamatory.

You’ve not mentioned the Town Clerk - What have they said? They are employed and therefore bound under certain employment laws, including advising you AND the Councillors on how they should be acting. If they amended original minutes once they had been agreed and signed off by Council that would also be a huge issue.

@familycourtq because they disputed my qualifications and experience and if you googled my name the parish councils minutes came up first and I needed something to show I did know what I was talking about professionally! Same with other Council officers too.

Haffiana we were able to supply evidence to the post office that one of their workers was using the path as a toilet. This person hasn't done it again. Most people are put off by the CCTV signs. Many properties in the area have CCTV to protect against crime, many of them overlook public areas, ours is the only one that is complained about at pc meetings.

@pariahoftheparish I feel for you as I have a similar problem but with the local council. All caused by a neighbour who reports whatever springs to his fevered imagination roughly every 5 months. Every time I say it's a malicious complaint the council will say they can't reveal the complainant (flaming obvious as we are rural, isolated and there's literally no one else) and they have to investigate.
Their idea of investigation is that I have to prove a negative. For example, the council claim I'm running a business, I say I'm not but have to 'prove it'. A bit like you're planning to block a footpath, even when you haven't.
The only thing I've managed to do to get them off my back is to insist that all communication is in writing. As I had too many phone conversations that later were 'not recollected in the same way'. I also use the phrase on the advice of my solicitor liberally!

@Littlecaf thank you that is interesting- apologies to op for thread hijack

Parish councils can be a pain in the arse sometimes. They wan't to do good in a village, but they are a group of members who only see things their way. and don't take any notice of people with some of their issues., despite various people attending their meetings, and stating their points of view about things..