A TOWN poll to register a vote of 'no confidence' in the parish council at Henley is being demanded by the council's most persistently dissident councillor. Yesterday (Wednesday) that councillor was branded as "a time-wasting mechanism" by another member of the council.
Welcome to the historic town of Henley, where accusation and counter-accusation flow freely and regularly—at meetings, in the street and on the internet. To call it a can of worms would be an understatement when other more accurate expressions are available.
The latest flare-up occurred at the council's regular fortnightly meeting on Monday when Cllr Sheila Dalman, who's been a member for only 18 months, resigned in a fury. Her precise reasons for resigning are already a matter of dispute.
Since Mrs Dalman would not tell the Herald yesterday why she'd resigned, and asked us to wait until the minutes were published, all we have are the conflicting explanations of the opposing camps—and they go like this. ..
Cllr Bill Leech-the council dissident who also runs the website Henley News Online—said: "Cllr Sheila Dalman announced that she would be standing down from the joint parish council with immediate effect as a result of the constant bickering at council meetings."
In his statement on Henley News Online, Cllr Leech said that chairman Cllr Les Goodman had demanded an apology from himself (Cllr Leech) over an article that had never actually been published.
Yesterday Cllr Matheou told the Herald that Cllr Leech was asked to resign at the meeting because of the article that wasn't published and because of things he said on Twitter. Referring to Twitter, Cllr Matheou said: "I took exception to this because some of it was incorrect and other points I didn't understand.
"The main focus was that—for no sound reason— Cllr Leech was attacking the parish council of which he is a member. I said that these attacks against the parish council had been going on since 2005, but Cllr Leech said they had been going on since 2004!
"Having no confidence in Bill Leech being a parish councillor for the benefit of the town, we asked him to resign. All councillors apart from him put their hands up. He refused to resign. At that stage Cllr Dalman thought his position was untenable and that he was wasting the time of the council.
"She said that if Bill Leech wouldn't resign, then she would resign, which she did. That is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."
Cllr Matheou added: "The whole thing is nonsense and incorrect, and this has been going on for years. I am a volunteer, an ex-IT manager and economist and I'm trying to help Henley increase its economic activity. I don't have time to deal with trivia—and we have a time wasting mechanism in Bill Leech."
Yesterday a Henley resident, who did not wish to be identified, perhaps summed it up best. The resident told the Herald: "The council shouldn't be discussing Twitter. It's pathetic. It is all very personal, vindictive and nasty."
Yesterday Stratford District Council confirmed that it had received a letter from 40 Henley residents saying they had lost confidence in the parish council and were asking for an early election.
A by-election to fill one parish council vacancy is already scheduled for 8th April. Cllr Dalman's resignation is expected to trigger another one.
Meanwhile, Cllr Leech is seeking support for a town poll so that residents can register their lack of confidence in the parish council.
Report by Preston Witts - Stratford Herald - Thursday 18th March 2010
No comments:
Post a Comment