A WEYMOUTH councillor has objected to co-opting un-elected members to the Dorset Council Harbours Advisory Committee.

Preston and Littlemoor councillor Louie O’Leary says the practise is un-democratic and should be stopped.

He points out that he has nothing against the individual involved, but is concerned about the principle.

“It’s about time we scrapped this and had a fully elected committee,” Cllr O’Leary told the October Dorset Council meeting.

Despite his plea the council voted to co-opt Mark Saxby to the committee, which will entitle him to claim a £1,000 per year allowance.

The vacancy arose after the resignation of a former co-opted member to the committee which oversees the business of the harbours at Weymouth, West Bay and Lyme Regis.

Dorset Council says it selects co-opted members by advertising the post, and selecting the most suitable on a ‘fit for purpose basis’ by looking at the nominees skills, knowledge, experience and commitment to harbour matters.

At the same meeting two new co-opted members were approved for the council’s audit and governance committee.

They were named as Simon Roach – a founder and director of a small consultancy company, and formerly a senior vice president of a multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, and Roger Ong, credit manager for a UK ethical bank supporting charities and social enterprises, and formerly an interim finance director for a number of companies.

Each post is eligible to an allowance of £2,000 per year, the meetings being more frequent than the harbours advisory committee.