VERY important letters SHOULD BE READ by residents of Ruyton

Dear Blogger,

Parish Council resignation letters from Chair, David Spicer and Vice Chair, Alyson Lister.

These are very important letters from the two people who have been our Parish Councillors for several years, and

SHOULD BE READ BY EVERYONE WHO LIVES IN RUYTON XI TOWNS

4 September 2023

Dear Mrs Bardsley

I am resigning from my role as Chair of Ruyton XI Towns Parish Council and as a Parish Councillor with immediate effect at the end of business today Monday 4 September 2023.

 Serving as a Parish Councillor from May 2013, as Vice-Chair from 2019 and then from May 2021 as Chair, it has been a privilege to work on many issues on behalf of the residents of Ruyton XI Towns Parish.

 My focus as a Parish Councillor has always been to work for the benefit of the whole community.

 The problem of not being able to attend meetings and risk being infected with Covid, given a vulnerable family member, has made the responsibility very difficult to carry out and as I said in my last Annual Report not an arrangement to repeat. Fortunately, all other meetings have been held on Zoom or Teams.

 Continuing with this arrangement would not have been possible without the huge support and dedication from the Vice-Chair Cllr Alyson Lister and the help, support and direction we have both received from you.

 Over the years, on diverse matters, both Alyson and I have received many emails and approaches from members of the community thanking us for the work we have done.  These I will be pleased to remember following my resignation. It has been a pleasure to work with Alyson and I hope we can continue to work together on other issues for the public benefit.

 I have also been grateful to those other Councillors who have supported me. In particular the encyclopaedic knowledge of Parish history from Cllr Trevor Allison has been a huge help as has his hard work and loyalty.

 Unfortunately, there are insufficient Councillors currently who can allocate sufficient time to Council affairs outside of Parish Council meetings and both Alyson and I cannot continue to bear the pressure on our private and family lives. Fortunately, we have been able to call on some support from former councillors and members of the community.

 We made it clear in May 2023 that we would be resigning.

 No councillor has contacted me to discuss what being the Chair involves or the issues that will need to be picked up for continuity. I am of course still happy to have conversations as I think it important that whoever becomes Chair fully understands what is involved before taking it on.

 It is interesting that in relation to the CIL Road Safety Project, a number of Councillors have been able to allocate considerable amounts of private time to promote the position they have taken. It will be welcome if they can continue to do so in relation to other matters of Council business.

 One area that I have found challenging and which is a primary duty of a Chair, has been to ensure that the Council and Councillors conform with legal responsibilities and support the integrity of the processes.

The minutes of previous Parish Council meetings going back years show that meetings typically began with a series of declarations of interest by councillors in relation to issues on the Agenda, with a focus clearly on what would be a reasonable perception of whether they had interests that needed to be declared or whether a Councillor had a predetermined view.

For the last few years there have been hardly any declarations of pecuniary interest or abstaining from voting due to predetermination but there have been arguments from councillors who are reluctant to accept that the principles should be applied at all.

This has led to complaints from members of the public who have attended Parish Council meetings.

The enforcement of these principles depends in the first instance on individual members determining if it might be reasonable for a member of the public to consider that they have predetermined a matter as a consequence of something that they have said or done previously or that they have a pecuniary or personal interest.

 I have kept an open mind on the Shropshire Council Road Safety Proposals throughout and could still be persuaded by concerns based on fact and reliable professional judgment and not misinformation. I would however accept that the correspondence I have entered into in order to correct misinformation or lack of balance might well give rise to a reasonable perception that I have a predetermined view and if I was able to attend the next Parish Council meeting, I would not take part in any debate or decision making on the issue.

 It is not just about doing what is right but being seen to be doing what is right otherwise public confidence is lost and the value of any outcome reduced.

 Another reason for complaint from the public, and from some Councillors, has been bullying and intimidating behaviour in Parish Council meetings but this is difficult to address when the issue is not acknowledged.

 I wish all the people of Ruyton XI Towns Parish well and I intend to continue to work for the benefit of the community in future albeit from outside the Parish Council.

 Yours sincerely

 David Spicer

 Chair of Ruyton XI Towns Parish Council

 

4 September 2023

 Dear Ms Bardsley,

I am writing to inform you that I am resigning from my role as Vice-Chair of Ruyton XI Towns Parish Council and as a Parish Councillor with immediate effect at the end of business today Monday 4th September 2023. 

 Serving as a Parish Councillor from July 2019 and as Vice-Chair from May 2021 it has been a privilege to work on so many issues on behalf of the Ruyton XI Towns Parish community. 

 My focus as a Parish Councillor has always been to work for the benefit of the whole community. The role of Vice-Chair was not something I aspired to but was one which needed fulfilling when David Spicer became Chair. 

 We have, as you know done our level best to carry out our duties without fear or favour and in a conscientious and timely manner. 

 David has endured the added challenge of being unable to attend and chair Parish Council meetings so has spent huge amounts of time researching and preparing information we could use and share so the processes could be fulfilled. Without his immense dedication and effort coupled with your hard work and flexibility the Parish Council could not have functioned efficiently. 

I am immensely grateful to you and David for your support and guidance through what have been some very testing times and complex issues. 

 In April 2023 I gave due notice of my intention to resign. I agreed to remain in post until September as a reasonable transition period but have not been approached by any councillors expressing interest in the role or any handover period. I will of course make myself available to do the necessary succession planning but I am no longer prepared to continue in post as my family now needs my full attention. 

I will not be chairing the Parish Council meeting on Tuesday 5th September 2023

This was confirmed as the right decision by the nature of comments made to me by Councillor Eyles at the Shropshire Council Public Information session held on Friday 1st September.  I also learnt that there are people intending to make the forthcoming Parish Council meeting particularly unpleasant. 

My sincere thanks to all my fellow councillors past and present whose support, encouragement, direction and skill sets have made our collective efforts both possible and productive. 

 I look forward to continuing certain aspects of that work independently of the Parish Council and wish you every success in all your future endeavours. 

 Yours sincerely,

 Alyson Lister 

 Vice Chair of Ruyton XI Towns Parish Council

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If you come to live in a village, you become part of the community and will get to know your neighbours and take part in village activities -  otherwise you might just as well live in Telford, Sheffield or London.

Roger and I arrived at Brownhill House in 1969 and people in the village have always made us so welcome we never want to leave - except in a coffin .