Other councillors also step down.
Town council leader Janet Seaton has resigned following a parish meeting on Tuesday evening where at least one hundred townsfolk turned up to challenge her vote back in June that the Langport Freemasons should be allowed to purchase the Hanging Chapel as part of confidential 'lease negotiations'
The vote was in secret and the single councillor who went public and blew the whistle was reported to the district council for her actions - despite the huge public interest in the story.
At the meeting at the Wharf two nights ago, several members of the public put it to Mrs Seaton and the 6 councillors who voted with her that they 'may have had a lack of judgement' and 'misread the public mood'
But they weren't having any of it. It quickly became clear that the public's affection for the Hanging Chapel and anger at the secrecy of the June vote wasn't understood by a large chunk of those who claim to represent us.
On Tuesday evening - and on several other occasions - it was put to Mrs Seaton and her backers that it may be prudent to back down and think again in the light of such strong public opposition.
Nobody at that Wharf gathering wanted anybody to resign - the word wasn't even uttered. There were no insults and no bad language was used. It was a perfectly civilised event at which people spoke frankly in an open forum. That's what parish meetings are for.
The public simply wanted a u-turn.
But Mrs Seaton and a handful of other town councillors have resigned.
As news of the resignations filtered through...one of the first to formally react was the Langport Area Business Group. It put out an e-mail yesterday to all its members saying the way our town council leader has been treated is 'disgusting'.
Can we put it to the business group leadership that if you can't relate to the one hundred people who turned up at the meeting at the Wharf on Tuesday or the 14-hundred people who signed the petition...then you are as out of touch as Mrs Seaton and the 6 councillors who voted with her appeared to be.
Here is the e-mail sent to every member of the Langport Area Business Group yesterday. It's been forwarded to Carry On Langport by 3 members of the business group who say they are "concerned" by the LABG's reaction to recent events.
Of course Mrs Seaton has done good work for Langport...but on this Hanging Chapel issue she suffered a major lack of judgement and totally misread the public mood.
Was resigning really her 'only' option? Was she treated unfairly? Or is it a case of you reap what you sow?
Of course Mrs Seaton has done good work for Langport...but on this Hanging Chapel issue she suffered a major lack of judgement and totally misread the public mood.
Was resigning really her 'only' option? Was she treated unfairly? Or is it a case of you reap what you sow?
E-mail from the Langport Area Business Group:
After being
contacted personally by Janet Seaton today, I just wanted to confirm the
extremely sad news that Janet has with immediate effect resigned as
both Council Chair and as a Counciller. Janet felt after recent
treatment and for the breaches in Council protocol which have taken
place, the operation of the Council has been fately undermined, leaving
her no choice but to resign.
I have worked
with many councils over the years in various roles and I can honestly
say that I have never come across a Chair so dedicated and hard working
as Janet. Langport has really been thriving this past couple of years
and despite such set backs as the closure of the bank, I felt as
Chairman and as a business owner a certain level of positivity for the
Town going forward, in no small part because we had such a good
Council.
I think the way
Janet has been treated both as Chair and as an individual is nothing
short of disgusting and leaves me furious that she felt the only option
is to resign. I only hope those people who have treated her so badly now
put their money where their mouth is and are prepared to lead from the
front!
I am sure you would all join me in thanking Janet for all her hard work and wishing her well for the future.
John
Chairman
Langport Area Business Group
Editor's Note - Mr Rice-Lewis did not attend the parish meeting on Tuesday evening.
carryonlangport.blogspot.com
😊
THAI MANGO - LANGPORT
Tried our new ice-cooled beer towers yet?
Fill'em up with a beverage of your choice & take it back to your table!
All at 'happy hour' prices!
😊
FLAGSTONE RESTORATION
Breathing new life into your flagstone floor.
Operating across Somerset, Dorset & Devon.
Click on the link below to visit our website:
😊
