'Disenchanted' planning committee chairman is third Brixham councillor to step down
ANOTHER Brixham town councillor has resigned.
Planning committee chairman Cllr Nick Henderson, who would have been at the heart of the £20million Tesco application for the port, has thrown in the towel.
He is the third to do so in the last four months and the second in three weeks.
The independent councillor for the St Mary's with Summercombe ward said he had become 'more and more disenchanted' with the way the council was operating.
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In a letter to fellow councillors, he said his main reason for quitting was personal.
But he added: "I always believed that we were a team and should act as a team. However, a few of you have continued sniping over minor issues which could easily be dealt with in the various committees we have but you have decided to make this as public as possible.
Cllr Henderson said his decision had nothing to do with some of the controversial issues shaking Brixham at the moment such as the proposed £20million Tesco.
He said he was in favour of the scheme.
He is the second councillor to resign in almost as many weeks after Cllr Gordon Boote also gave up his seat for the same ward.
Cllr Boote resigned after Brixham Town Council threw out plans for the Tesco store in the port.
He said he thought the authority was a pointless body which had not achieved anything in its six years' existence.
So far, no-one has called in an election to replace Cllr Boote. If it is not, then someone could be co-opted on to the council following a selection process akin to a job interview.
However, if either one of the two elections is called in, then each of them could cost the town council £10,000 to organise.
A spokesman for the authority said: "We don't know yet if we will be able to run the two elections at the same time.
"We are waiting for Torbay Council's returning officer's decision."
The third councillor to resign was Cllr Vic Ellery, who took up a post with the befriending charity Brixham Does Care in October. He was replaced on the council by Rosemary Clarke, co-founder of the Brixham Residents Against a Tesco Superstore (BRATS) group.
Cllr Mike Morey said he hoped the two elections would be run on the same date or it could cost even more money to the town. He added: "It is sad. Nick worked very hard."
Cllr Chris Lomas said: "As chairman of Brixham Town Council planning committee, Nick should have been leading the debate on the town centre development as this is certainly the most important change to our town in recent years. He failed to turn up.
"Similarly, the golf club debate. Again no Nick Henderson and on both evenings. There will most likely be a by-election costing Brixham precept payers about £6,000 to £10,000."
4 Comments
by Oscar-Parrot
Wednesday, February 27 2013, 11:57AM
“("I always believed that we were a team and should act as a team") No Nick, your a council member representing a mixed community with differing views. Your not in a political party.”
by Ax0l0tl
Friday, February 08 2013, 8:34AM
“This is yet another opportunity to elect anti-Tesco councillors. How many times must the people of Brixham vote no, before Torbay understands that no means no?”
by dgldBRIX12
Thursday, February 07 2013, 8:10PM
“I don't agree with the previous writer's comments - BTC is a body, it is the individuals who comprise it, and the way that it is administered that is the problem.
I have always believed that democracy needs to be as close to the community as possible, and BTC, reformed, could well play a significant role in the future, if those who are on it open their eyes and take note of the damage they are doing to their town's reputation.
Nobody with any sense would currently put their name forward to become a member of the discredited version of a council that is currently in place, as they would be tarred with the same brush next time around.
What the Chairman, and remaining members should be doing is getting together, burying the hatchet (preferably not in each other's heads), and agree on a peace deal that will be transparent to their community, so that it is possible to move forward positively.
Otherwise, and how apt it is in Agatha Christie country, we will continue to see more victims, and continue to wonder who is committing the crime.
The answer may lie in Murder On the Orient Express, where nearly everybody did the victim in, but this time the victim may be the council itself.
So come on you lot, get your act together and sort things out, before it is too late.”
by Orientsteve
Thursday, February 07 2013, 3:45PM
“Will anybody actually notice anything different with these vacancies? What is the point of Brixham Town Council? What has it achieved since its formation? The most sensible way forward is to abolish BTC, thus saving a totally useless and unnecessary level of bureaucracy. They are a laughing stock and the time has come to put them out of their misery.”