A MAN who was banned from contacting the council by email for six months after being branded a 'persistent/vexatious complainant' has claimed the policy is a breach of his human rights.
Nick Marbrow, treasurer of Heston Residents Association (HRA), had all emails to councillors and council officers blocked for six months as part of a scheme introduced last year.
He was one of three people to fall foul of council guidelines on what constitutes an unacceptable level of complaints, a report published this week revealed.
According to Hounslow Council, he bombarded officers and councillors with 850 emails in the space of just three months, making it hard for them to carry out other tasks.
However, Mr Marbrow defended his actions, saying he only sent so many emails because the recipients kept ignoring him or failing to take action on crucial issues in and around Heston. He also says he was contacting the council on behalf of the residents group, which boasts more than 500 members, many of whom he says were themselves fed up at the lack of response from their ward councillors.
Mr Marbrow, of Sutton Road, Heston, said: "This is a disgraceful and highly illegal way to carry on, because it's a totally subjective decision taken by council officers, with no right to appeal. The only reason I had to send so many emails in the first place is because they (officers and councillors) are in the habit of kicking things into the long grass and hoping they will go away."
Mr Marbrow, whose ban was lifted in January, has threatened to withhold his council tax should the council impose similar restrictions in future.
He received a letter informing him of the ban in July last year, just a week after getting an email from then council leader Peter Thompson 'apologising for the council's poor performance and promising to do something about it'.
Ironically, even after it was supposedly lifted he had to call the council to inform them his emails were still being blocked because he couldn't send an email to let them know.
Mr Marbrow claims the policy breaches section eight of the Human Rights Act because the punishment was imposed without a 'fair trial'.
He complained to the Local Government Ombudsman at the time but was told the decision did not 'appear to be unreasonable'.
Most of the complaints related to a handful of issues, including the need for traffic calming measures in Sutton Road and ongoing concerns about the Grade II-listed Hermitage in Upper Sutton Lane, Heston.
A report on council complaints, discussed at Tuesday night's executive meeting, says two other residents have fallen foul of the policy, with one banned from making telephone contact and the other prohibited from contacting councillors by any means.
It adds that in the 'majority of cases' an informal warning was sufficient to 'modify the vexatious or persistent behaviour'.
A council spokesman said: "The decision was taken due to Mr Marbrow sending an excessive amount of emails over a short period of time to various members of staff, many unfairly abusing their integrity. This was to the detriment of other residents, when staff members were concerned with responding to the huge volume of emails Mr Marbrow sent.
"At the time, Mr Marbrow could contact us by phone, letter or come into the Civic Centre to meet with council staff."
