YORK’S council leader has defended himself after it emerged one councillor has been sacked and another has resigned from the authority’s ruling executive.

Cllr David Carr, Conservative leader of City of York Council, dismissed Cllr Stuart Rawlings from the executive over a potential conflict of interest regarding the Local Plan. A second executive member, Cllr Sam Lisle, resigned within hours.

Now Cllr Carr has said he “regrets” the situation, but expects the “highest standards of conduct and integrity” from senior members.

The row centres on a plot of land which developers had identified to potentially become part of the city’s Local Plan for housing development. A member of Cllr Rawling’s extended family has an interest in the land, but Cllr Rawlings says the link is remote, and that he spoke to council bosses as soon as he was aware of it. The land has not been accepted as part of the draft plan.

Cllr Rawlings was sacked on Monday, but a public statement from the Conservative group on Tuesday said he had “stepped down for personal reasons”.

Now Cllr Rawlings has called that statement “factually incorrect”, and said he did not agree to its release.

Cllr Lisle, who was in charge of housing and safer neighbourhoods, has confirmed he resigned within hours of Cllr Rawling’s dismissal, citing “irreconcilable differences with the leader".

Cllr Rawlings added: “I have done nothing wrong.

“Openness and transparency are core values which I will always stand for and uphold. As such I self-referred the issue to the Standards Committee on Monday evening because I believe it is the right thing to do.

“In modern politics the people of York, and in particular my Rawcliffe and Clifton Without Ward, should expect no less.”

The former executive member for Education, Children & Young People said his link to the Local Plan does not involve any of his immediate family – and said he spoke to council bosses as soon as he knew of the potential conflict.

He added: “Indeed it is so remote that CYC papers do not even have a section to declare the interest.”

The land in question has already been rejected by the council as a potential development plot.

Cllr Carr, however, has stood by his decision and said he is “puzzled and disappointed” by Cllr Lisle’s resignation.

In a written statement, the council leader said he had talked with Cllr Rawlings and senior council staff since the family link first emerged in December, and felt his colleague should resign because of the political significance of the Local Plan.

He added: “As my track record as leader shows, I expect members of the Executive to maintain the highest standards of conduct and integrity. It is a privilege to be a councillor and especially a senior councillor. We carry the trust and confidence of the people of York and perception can be just as important as action.

“As leader of the council, I will not tolerate any behaviour which undermines that trust and confidence.

“I am puzzled and disappointed by Cllr Lisle’s resignation. My only observation would be that he is a joint ward councillor with Cllr Rawlings and a close colleague of his.”

The executive is due to meet this evening, and is expected to go ahead with Cllr Suzie Mercer in the children and young people’s post, but with no replacement for Cllr Lisle.

This row means four senior councillors have left the executive since last summer, with Liberal Democrats Keith Aspden and Nigel Ayre suspended by Cllr Carr in August. That situation is still unresolved, although North Yorkshire Police announced in December that they would not be investigating allegations – which have still not been made public.

It also comes around a year since former council leader and finance boss Cllr Chris Steward left the executive, and in the run-up to crucial budget negotiations and council tax decisions which will be made in February.