BOURNEMOUTH’S council leader says he won’t resign over accusations that he did not correctly disclose his friendship with a planning consultant involved in a major town centre redevelopment scheme.

Cllr John Beesley made a statement to members of the council ahead of its monthly meeting on Tuesday after Lib Dem opposition councillor Roger West circulated an email, seen by the Daily Echo.

The email claimed that Cllr Beesley gave incorrect information in 2010 when asked to declare any interest in the Winter Gardens scheme, which councillors threw out earlier this year.

Cllr West said the declaration of interest that Cllr Beesley made was “plainly incorrect” when he declared that his position was no different to that of any other member of the council.

Cllr West’s accusations centred on the fact that the Winter Gardens scheme was represented by Tony Ramsden of Planning Solutions, of whom, he said, Cllr Beesley had been a business partner.

He said that Cllr Beesley, who was deputy leader of the council in 2010, had a close personal and professional relationship with Mr Ramsden.

Cllr West accused Cllr Beesley of “a repeated lack of judgment” in his email and called on the council leader to resign from his post and as a councillor.

Addressing the meeting on Tuesday, Cllr Beesley said the email was “false and misleading” and that he was taking advice over it.

Cllr Beesley said: “In view of the fact that the email was sent to all councillors, and seeks my resignation as leader of the council and as a member for the ward I represent, I wish to state, for the avoidance of doubt, that there is no reason for me to do so and that I therefore have no intention of doing so.

“Further, I believe that I enjoy the continued confidence of members across all parties as leader of the council.”

He produced a statement from the council’s monitoring officer, saying he had declared his interests correctly and that the issues had already been considered by a tribunal which exonerated him in 2011.

Cllr Beesley told the Daily Echo this afternoon: "I must categorically state that I have never had any financial interest in Planning Solutions or in any other company with which Tony Ramsden has been involved."

Cllr Beesley’s full statement:

“I am making this statement to the Council in response to the email sent to all Councillors, in addition to others outside the Council, by Councillor West on Saturday 27 July 2013 regarding the Winter Gardens and other matters.

"That email has subsequently been forwarded to others known to Cllr West who in turn have made further allegations which, similar to the email from Cllr West, are false and misleading and I am currently taking advice on both emails.

“In the meantime I have already taken advice from the Monitoring Officer regarding my declarations and she has confirmed her legal view to me as follows:

"She states, ‘ I can confirm that I am satisfied that the declaration made by you at the Cabinet meeting as recorded in the minutes was appropriate, and in accordance with the advice provided. I can also confirm that the declarations and disclosures of interests made by you during this period were within the remit of the matters which came before the First Tier Tribunal in March 2011. In my view therefore these matters have been considered and dealt with by the relevant body with jurisdiction at that time.’

“In view of the fact that the email was sent to all Councillors, and seeks my resignation as Leader of the Council and as a Member for the Ward I represent, I wish to state, for the avoidance of doubt, that there is no reason for me to do so and that I therefore have no intention of doing so.

"Further, I believe that I enjoy the continued confidence of Members across all parties as Leader of the Council.

“I am grateful to the Mayor for using his discretion in granting me permission to make this statement in order to clarify matters publicly for the benefit of the good reputation of the Council.

“I would ask that this statement be entered into the minutes of this meeting and stand as a public record for the future.”