A KENNET councillor this week accused his colleagues of trying to dodge awkward questions from Devizes residents by cancelling council meetings.

Ian Hopkins brought the matter up at Kennet's full council meeting on Tuesday afternoon, some six weeks after protesters, complaining about the felling of four plane trees in Devizes Market Place, were told they could not ask questions about it at the full council meeting.

They were advised to put their questions to the next meeting of the environmental services committee, due to take place on November 6. But when they turned up for it, they were told the meeting had been cancelled due to lack of business to discuss.

Coun Hopkins told Tuesday's meeting: "I cannot believe the committee had no business to transact. For a start there were all the service plans to discuss. I firmly believe that councillors were trying to avoid having to answer awkward questions from Devizes residents about the felling of trees and other changes in the Market Place.

"I have been on this council for ten years and I have never heard of so many meetings cancelled housing, economic development, environmental services. Are we being taken for a ride here?"

But Coun Chris Humphries, the chairman of the environmental services committee that was responsible for the decisions on work in the Market Place, insisted that the only reason for cancelling the meetings was lack of business.

He said: "In the interests of the efficient and economic running of this council it was felt there was no point in drawing people together for no reason. No questions were put and no answers were given."

Coun Tony Still asked Coun Janet Giles, the chairman of the housing committee, why a meeting of her committee was cancelled when the discussion of the Homes@Kennet scheme, whereby tenants can bid for properties advertised in the local press, was kept very short at the previous meeting.

He said: "This was a very complex document and a lot of work went into its preparation.

"Why could it not have been discussed at the cancelled meeting?"

Mrs Giles answered that public meetings on the scheme had been held throughout Kennet, giving tenants the opportunity to find out all about the details of it.