Ledbury chairman to stand down

Ledbury town council chairman Nina Shields says she is stepping down from the council this week.

The councillor was elected as chairman following the aftermath the judicial review fiasco which cost the local taxpayer around £220,000.

The judicial review was brought against the town council by coun Liz Harvey after she was wrongfully sanctioned from speaking and voting in committee meetings.

Despite several opportunities for the then councillors to back down, they held firm and a High Court judge ruled that coun Harvey had not been fairly treated which resulted in taxpayers having to foot the legal costs.

In her final report coun Shields said she hoped the new council would draw a line under the issue.

“Otherwise it will be like a festering sore that will waste energy and continue to do damage,” she said.

“Our solicitor has advised that to spend any more money on this will raise issues about the council’s duty of care.

“Moving on, the major shock for me back last May, was the woeful state of things in the office.

“Everything from the management of contracts to the maintenance and operation of policies and procedures was in a staggeringly poor state.”

She said there had not even been a hand over on the financial side and the record keeping there was complicated beyond all reason.

“Grievances had not been dealt with, health and safety issues had been ignored or at best overlooked,” she added.

“The filing systems were in a mess. It suggested years of mismanagement and it was hard to know where to start, especially with no clerk or deputy clerk.”

She said she had been encouraged by the reaction they had from organisations they work with in particular Herefordshire Council officers.

“It’s amazing what progress you can make when you listen and try to understand the problem that is being presented to you – and we have made a huge amount of progress,” she said.

“This will make it much easier for the new council and I’m sad that only 10 candidates came forward for election.

“They are all ‘elected uncontested’ and the new Council will have to consider holding a by election or co-opting, to fill the eight remaining vacancies.

“For anyone who wants to make a difference, this is an extremely good time to join the council.”

She also thanked all the council’s staff for their hard work.