NEW council leader Derek Long has announced two new appointments on council committees.

Councillor Seve Gomez-Aspron, will now be the chairman of the planning committee, with fellow Newton councillor Jeanie Bell to take on the role of chairman of the Licensing Committee.

Both have previously held places on cabinet. 

In a tweet following his appointment, Cllr Gomez Aspron, who represents Newton-le-Willows, said: "Fantastic to be elected as the chairman of the Planning Committee for the next municipal year. A definite change in role.

"And one I intend to use to ensure a balanced and fair view is heard on upcoming applications and to advise cabinet via the committee on the draft Local Plan."

Cllr Gomez-Aspron's appointment drew criticism on social media from some Star readers.

He stood down from the cabinet in May last year ahead of taking up the post as member for growth.

The appointment had led to complaints from campaigners against greenbelt development who had been upset by some of his comments on social media. 

At the time, Cllr Gomez Aspron said he left the cabinet so he could speak more freely on issues affecting Newton ward.

But he later became embroiled in issues surrounding his conduct.

At a meeting in December 2017 St Helens Council's standards committee recommended numerous sanctions against the councillor after it upheld nine of 13 complaints against him.

An investigation had been conducted after the council received "a number of complaints" about Cllr Gomez-Aspron between November 2016 and September 2017, mostly relating to his use of social media.

At the hearing, Cllr Gomez-Aspron had claimed the council's code of conduct doesn't refer to a representative's "private life" saying "we are not on duty 24/7".

The recommendations of the committee were to censure of the member, to publish its findings in respect of the members’ conduct, that Cllr Gomez-Aspron undertakes training on the use of social media, be replaced as Armed Forces Champion for St Helens Council and be removed from St Helens Council Personnel Appeals Committee.