‘Tired and emotional’ Councillor Upsets Parish AGM

Published on: 12 Apr, 2019
Updated on: 15 Apr, 2019

Outgoing parish councillor James Nicholls

By Chris Dick

Usually, the Effingham Parish Council annual general meeting is a quiet, orderly, well-mannered affair but the one on Tuesday, April 9 was unexpectedly lively.

Mr James Nicholls, an outgoing parish councillor had, through his own oversight, failed to be re-elected to the council. He was clearly upset, although he could still be co-opted at a future date because two of the ten parish council seats have been left unfilled.

In a series of interruptions ranging from complaints about his failed attempt at re-election to objecting to the borough councillor’s reports on local matters which he claimed were party political, Mr Nicholls, a councillor for 28 years, made his irritation clear.

He was not entirely lucid in everything he said and at times ignored the convention of seeking the chairman’s permission to speak. At one point, a fellow councillor said he was not making sense. Another councillor in the audience stood and asked Mr Nicholls to be quiet.

After the meeting finished, some residents accused Mr Nicholls of being drunk. Mr Nicholls said: “How can I be drunk when I’ve only walked across the field. I haven’t had anything to drink this evening.”

Mr Nicholls then went to the Village Bar a few yards away, within the same building, where he was seen to drink a large whisky before falling over, breaking crockery and knocking over a billboard.

Earlier, Mr Nicholls had told The Guildford Dragon that his attempt to register for re-election had not been processed because the parish clerk had not performed the renewal process in a similar way as previous clerks. But the clerk, Jon Short, said: “From my perspective, James Nicholls had exactly the same support as anyone else who decided to stand.

“I do not accept any responsibility for his failure to submit nomination papers, which let’s face it, would only be a repeat of what he did four years ago.

“He is entitled to request co-option onto the parish council, but due to other interested parties and the need to treat all parties fairly and equally, that can’t be guaranteed.”

Readers may recall that The Guildford Dragon reported the 2017 arrest of Mr Nicholls and subsequent 2018 court case over a confrontation with Gypsies on King George V playing fields. See: Parish Councillor Arrested Following Incident at Traveller Encampment and Effingham Parish Councillor In Confrontation With Travellers Cleared Of Three Charges, Guilty Of One