At the Faringdon Town Council meeting held last Wednesday (14th July) Councillors Matthew Barber and Roger Cox were accused of misconduct by fellow Town Councillors and reported to the Standards Board for England. It was alleged that the Town Council should have sanctioned a private meeting between the Councillors and Lord Faringdon. The meeting was arranged by district councillor Alison Thomson, as a consequence of two decisions taken by the Town Council. The first was to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds to refurbish the Pump Rooms, considered by many to be a white elephant. The second decision of the Town Council was to vacate the Corn Exchange and look for a new location for the Town Council offices; one option was the Pump House. Both of these decisions have caused grave concern to local residents. Councillor Matthew Barber commented:“We visited Lord Faringdon primarily as District Councillors, and also as concerned residents. We felt that the future of the Pump House of which Lord Faringdon is landlord, directly affected the future of the Corn Exchanges, which is owned by the District Council. We owe it to our community to ensure that we are well informed.” The Councillors were accused of going behind the Town Council’s back and undermining the relationship between the Council and Lord Faringdon. It was asserted by others members of the Town Council that Matthew Barber and Roger Cox should have had permission from the Council in order to meet with Lord Faringdon. An unrepentant Matthew Barber said:“I do not need permission from anyone to meet whomever I choose. We are concerned by the way in which the Town Council are going ahead with the Pump House project, despite huge costs and local concerns. Our conversation with Lord Faringdon did not disclose anything that was not already in the public domain. We have a duty to local residents, and it is about time they realised what was being carried out in their name.” Both Matthew Barber and Roger Cox are confident that there is no case to answer at the Standards Board. Matthew Barber seconded the proposal to take the matter to the Standards Board, commenting later that, “I maintain that we have done nothing wrong, except representing local people to the best of our ability. By taking the issue to the Standards Board I hope that it will be resolved once and for all. I will not apologise for doing what I consider to be in the best interests of Faringdon.