Two resign in town hall row (From Witney Gazette)

Two resign in town hall row

2:11pm Tuesday 20th February 2007 in Witney By Tim Hughes

THE dispute gripping Witney Town Council has deepened with two councillors resigning in protest at the 'management' of the council.

Liberal Democrat councillors Paul Slamin and David Nicholson quit following the resignation last week of town clerk Pat Nevins - who is at the centre of the dispute.

Both councillors had earlier backed a failed vote of no confidence in mayor, Chrissie Curry, and town and West Oxfordshire district councillor David Harvey - the chairman of the policy and finance committee.

Mrs Nevins, who would have been expected to have worked three months notice, was suspendedlast week.

In a further twist, Mrs Nevins and Mr Nicholson were served with letters, on Thursday, from Witney solicitors BrookStreet Des Roches, on behalf of the council, advising them against talking about matters it said were still confidential.

Although much of the background to the row has not been made public, one matter which has divided councillors has been the hiring of a firm of private detectives, Mission Investigations.

It is understand to have cost more than £6,000 to hire the Coventry-based detective agency, whose investigators all have experience in the police, or as surveillance operatives in the military.

Mystery still surrounds the exact purpose of the investigation. The investigators spoke to a number of town council staff.

In a letter to the Witney Gazette, five members of staff, including acting town clerk, Sharon Groth, said: "Contrary to any impression given in last week's Gazette, we fully support Witney Town Council and have no complaints about individual councillors nor have the staff in general been under any suspicion or investigation, and we are appalled by any suggestion otherwise. We were invited to and have all spoken freely and voluntarily to the external investigators about the stressful events of the last six months."

The letter was also signed by Janine Howells, Elisa Snook, Sue Partlett, and Michael Scott .

As reported in last week's Witney Gazette, Ms Curry and Mr Harvey have been reported by Mrs Nevins to the Standards Board for England, the independent body which investigates conduct in local government, and the Audit Commission, the Government spending watchdog.

Mr Nicholson, a former magistrate, said he resigned because his position had become 'untenable'. He said: "I have no confidence in the management of the town council."

He added: "This could have been resolved quickly if the matter had proceeded in a different way. I feel I've been gagged unnecessarily. We will be interviewed by the Audit Commission and the Standards Board in due course, and will be able to speak openly and freely. The people of Witney will find out the truth."

Mr Slamin said: "I resigned because I no longer feel comfortable staying on the council in the light of what's happened, and want the story to come out into the open. It is something the people of Witney will be disgusted by.

"I believe people should be told the truth, and hope the people of Witney feel the same as me. This is a clear cut case of public interest."

Among the issues he spoke out against, was the hiring of private investigators. He said: "It's an appalling use of public money for an appalling purpose. That money could have been spent on amenities for children, upgrading equipment in public halls, or a disabled toilet at West Witney Sports and Social Club, which desperately needs one."

He added: "I refused to be interviewed by Mission Investigations, as I did not recognise their authority."

A statement from Witney Town Council confirmed that a member of staff had been suspended from duty, and that internal disciplinary proceedings were ongoing.

It added: "These proceedings are of a confidential and personal nature. Due to the nature of the matters under consideration, it was necessary for an external company to assist the council to investigate them properly. All councillors and employees were made aware of this.

"No member of staff was subject to any suspension during the investigation. It would be inappropriate for the council to comment any further on this. The council can confirm that it has the full backing of all its councillors and employees, and that the mayor, Chrissie Curry, and chairman of the policy and finance committee, David Harvey, both have the full backing of the council."