The chair of Walsall Council’s planning committee has stepped down over what he calls ‘false allegations’ against him.

Councillor Mark Statham is currently under investigation by the monitoring officer, but is confident no wrongdoing will be found.

Statham, councillor for Bloxwich East, has chaired the committee since May. Before that he served as vice-chair for the committee alongside councillor Mike Bird as chair. 

His replacement will be decided tonight by the Walsall Conservative group. Members voting in a secret ballot can choose between two candidates, councillor Waheed Rasab or councillor Mike Bird. 

Councillor Waheed Rasab, elected in 2018 for the Paddock ward, is currently chair for the Health and Wellbeing board and vice-chair for a taxi licensing sub-committee. He is not currently a member of the planning committee. 

Rasab’s competitor is former council leader Mike Bird. Councillor Bird was ousted by the national Conservative party last year due to claims of bullying and harassment made against him. 

The suspension did not affect Bird’s role at the council as the authority considered it an issue for party matters. However, he resigned as leader weeks later. 

Councillor Bird represents the Pheasey Park Farm ward and was first elected over 40 years ago. During his time, he has held various chair and vice-chair positions and is currently a member of the planning committee.