Community councillors have warned of a widening rift with Caerphilly County Borough Council over its decision to snub their committee nominee.

At a meeting on Monday July 20, the local authority was accused of taking away the “right” of the borough’s town and community councils to choose a member of the authority’s standards committee.

Blackwood’s mayor, George Etheridge, was ultimately rejected for the role in June after two previous delays to his confirmation.

The local authority instead voted to carry out its own selection process, after several Labour members said community councils were not all made aware of the vacancy.

But town councillor Etheridge said he had proof the notice of vacancy was sent to each town or community council, and believes he has been treated unfairly.

Risca town councillor Mike Parker, chairing the meeting of the local authority’s community council liaison committee, insisted the notice of vacancy had been sent out.

Cllr Parker demanded an explanation why the local authority had “taken the decision to take the right away from me to vote for my community councillor to stand on a committee”, and asked to see the rules that allowed such a decision.

Previous nominations for the role had followed the same procedures, he claimed.

Caerphilly Council’s deputy monitoring officer, Lisa Lane, said the local authority voting to carry out its own selection process was a “proper” decision, but did not comment on the reasons for rejecting Cllr Etheridge’s nomination.

County councillor Nigel Dix, who also sits on Blackwood Town Council, told the committee it was “disappointing” questions were unanswered on the decision to override the selection process.

“I’d be interested to see where in the constitution it says that – I think we all need to know so we can have any faith in the process,” added Cllr Dix. “I believe in this case the town councils have had a democratic right taken away from them.”

Cllr Janine Reed said she had written to the local authority’s monitoring officer to seek an explanation, and was still waiting for a response.

She told the committee she wanted to know what evidence supported the local authority’s concerns about the selection process, and whether officers had checked if the notice of vacancy was sent out.

It was important to know whether the local authority provided a “complete and accurate picture” of the situation before councillors voted to override the selection process, she added.

Following the meeting, Cllr Etheridge said he felt a “deep sense of disappointment and concern” over the relationship between the local authority and the borough’s town and community councils.

He warned of “widespread dissatisfaction” among town and community councillors, and said the rift raised “serious questions about accountability, transparency and the health of local democracy”.

“Town and community councils represent the communities they serve and should be regarded as valued partners, not as an inconvenience,” he added.