A Wiltshire councillor has demanded to know why he was not told about radioactive contamination on council-owned land in his ward.
Following the discovery of radioactive contamination found on land owned by Wiltshire Council at the former RAF Bowerhill base in Melksham, Conservative councillor Nick Holder said he was "deeply concerned" that decisions made by council officers were not shared with elected representatives.
"Although the risk of contamination is negligible, I am appalled that as both a ward councillor and a member of the committee overseeing the works at the site, I was not made aware of the discovery," he said.
"Understandably, since this discovery was revealed by the media it has caused some concern locally as to 'what else is there - what are they not telling us?'"
Cllr Holder said the lack of public information had allowed misinformation to spread through the community telling the council meeting; "Can we please find out why... it was not communicated to me as the local member."
The Liberal Democrat cabinet member for economic development defended his decision not to inform the public, saying: "As the levels are minimally above base levels it was not considered necessary to inform councillors or members of the public."
But Cllr Holder rejected this response, saying that local people had a right to know and the council had a responsibility not to encourage disinformation by leaving an information vacuum.
"Did the Liberal Democrats really think local people would not discuss and worry about the fact that radioactive contamination had been found in their community? Not only should relevant councillors have been told, but the residents of Bowerhill should have been informed of the situation without hiding behind technical terms like 'minimum base levels'.
