Council should be run by active members (From Witney Gazette)

Council should be run by active members

in Letters

Sir – I attended the recent annual Witney Town Council meeting as a member of the public. What a storm!

David Harvey, who has been leader for over a decade, had been deposed and, one by one, his supporters stood up (Jim King, Brenda Churchill, Chrissie Curry and Nick Buckle) and publicly announced that they no longer wished to serve on any town council committee (apart from the BMX and Jubilee committees) and resigned all chairmanships.

My jaw dropped at several points. As a result of these withdrawals, the council is now short of public representatives on many committees.

This isn’t Trumpton, a toy town; it is Witney, a thriving market town that should be properly represented in a professional manner. Will any of these councillors resign to allow a more active councillor to take their place?

With three years to go until new town council elections, it seems unacceptable that all our councillors are not actively engaged. Alex Kinchesh, Manor Road, Witney