Former Cheshire East Council leader Michael Jones has died at the age of 61.
Mr Jones was first elected to Cheshire East as the Conservative ward member for Bunbury in 2011 and became a somewhat controversial council leader the following year.
In December 2015 he announced he was stepping down as leader following the controversy surrounding the awarding of fitness contracts to a company that was owned by his physiotherapist, with whom he had a relationship.
After sitting as a non-grouped independent councillor for a short time, Mr Jones resigned from the council in 2017.
Former Cheshire East councillor David Marren, who had been Mr Jones’ friend since they were both elected together in 2011, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I was very sad to learn Michael had died.” He added: “I know full well that some people liked him and some people didn’t like him.”
Mr Marren said Mr Jones reduced council costs during his leadership and froze council tax for residents every year.
“He’d only been a councillor for a year when he became leader, which is a massive jump,” added Mr Marren.
“Michael was the one that led the restructuring of Alderley Park, and he helped create both Macclesfield Town Council and Crewe Town Council.
“There had been some efforts before, certainly in Crewe, to create a town council and they had failed.
“Michael, as Cheshire East leader, was supportive of it. If he had been against it, it wouldn’t have happened.
“That was a good thing for the town as far as I’m concerned.
“I accept he wasn’t popular, but he did some good things.” Mr Jones’ time as leader was marred by controversy, which included police investigations, but no charges were ever brought and he always strenuously denied any wrongdoing.
Mr Marren, who was an executive director at the former Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council, said: “As an experienced officer, I took the view that Michael personally hadn’t broken any rules.”
XHEAD
Fiasco
Coun Jones was leader at the time of the Lyme Green waste plant fiasco.
An internal investigation by Cheshire East Council found more than £800,000 of taxpayers’ money had been wasted starting groundwork on a recycling plant in Macclesfield without first obtaining planning permission.
The council appointed a designated independent person to assess what mistakes were made and the eventual report, only released after intense pressure, was heavily redacted.
In January 2013 the council was forced to backtrack after Coun Jones claimed that chancellor George Osborne had influenced the decision to keep the HS2 high-speed rail link away from his Tatton constituency.
Coun Jones was also in charge for some of the council’s disastrous local plan process, which planning inspector Stephen Pratt said had “serious failings” and whose delay led to much uncontrolled housing.
Other ideas of his included a tunnel under Congleton, to remove traffic from the town centre and allow people to walk from work to the park without having to cross Mountbatten Way.
He was also implicated in the creation of a toxic atmosphere at the council.
A report found he had created a “culture of fear” and used an authority as “his own private entity”.
Council auditors Grant Thornton’s review found his leadership included “bullying and inappropriate behaviour”.
Mr Jones said the report was not “fair and accurate” and its conclusions were “regrettable”.
The auditors, who acted on behalf of Cheshire East Council between 2014 and 2018, looked into the culture and conduct of Mr Jones, and the procurement processes involving Core Fit.
The auditors said Cheshire East Council, which was created in 2009, had faced a “profound range of difficulties” during the time, some related to the fact it was a new council.
It said a lack of clearly defined organisational culture and clarity in regards to expected behaviour had laid the ground for what became a “dysfunctional culture”.
“As the report sets out, much of this comes down to the poor behaviours of one man at the political head of the organisation, the former leader,” it said.
The auditors said Mr Jones was known for developing a “clear and effective focus on the economic advancement” of the area and had achievements to his name “which should not be overlooked”, but he had “sought to run the council in an autocratic style as if it was his own private entity”.
They said he created a “culture of fear” and highlighted “poor behaviours, including shouting and foul language as a matter of course”, which set an “inappropriate tone”.
They also said the former leader “either disregarded or lacked understanding of the governance structures of local authorities” and had a “lack of respect or consideration” for governance and due process.
No details have yet been released about the funeral.
• Local democracy reporter Belinda Ryan contributed to this report.
