Parish council hit with slew of resignations after tempers flare at meeting to discuss poll on dissolution

A North Yorkshire parish council has become inquorate after a bitter row saw three councillors resign and a further two fail to show up for a council meeting.

Thornton le Dale Parish Council’s Clerk opened a meeting on 25 July with just the Parish Clerk, Cllr Marguerite Markham and one other councillor present. She immediately closed the meeting after noting the resignations and absences.

The slew of resignations comes after a tense extraordinary council meeting the week prior (18 July) in which councillors clashed over the results of a non-binding poll on dissolving the parish council.

Declaring the results at the meeting, Cllr Markham began reading from the agenda, which reads: "1545 Electorate / 245 Voted 16% Yes 180 11.65% No 64 4%."

But Cllr Sandra Kathleen Bell interrupted, stating: "No, no, that is not how our elections work. Sorry, first past the post. There's no way that is appropriate. The way it's put here is nonsense."

Cllr Markham responded: "Sandra, you are not chair. Be quiet."

Cllr Bell went on to argue that the parish council should not have reported the vote in the manner set out in the agenda, stating that: "You cannot report the results of the election the way they have been. It's ridiculous.

"If somebody doesn't vote, that doesn't mean they vote no."

She argued that the result of the poll was 74% in favour of dissolving the council and 26% against.

The row led to all of the councillors except Cllr Bell standing up and leaving the room.

The parish council's website has now been updated to note that due to the council being inquorate, there will be no further meetings, and all activities will be stopped, including grass cutting and burials at the parish's cemetery, until further advice is sought.

The council has been subject to local scrutiny for some time, with one member of the public recording meetings and uploading the videos to YouTube. Recordings of the 18 July meeting have amassed more than 20,000 views.

Recordings of the meetings date back to December 2022. In one recording, some councillors can be seen to be covering their faces with sheets of paper for the entirety of the meeting.

In a statement on the media's coverage of the infighting at the council, Cllr Markham said she is saddened to see inaccurate reporting in the local press, "which is inflammatory and derogatory to the Parish Council and the village".

She added: "The council is absolutely clear that the audio and video recording of a Council meeting is legitimate. However, it was very disappointing to find the edited footage was then placed on Youtube."

She reported that the situation had affected the health of some councillors.

Adam Carey