The Vice Chair of Hughenden Parish Council in High Wycombe has resigned after falling out with the Chair.
Cllr Debra Main, who chairs the Finance Committee, announced she was quitting the Council in an October 19 email seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Writing to the Chair Stan Jones, she said: “Please accept this as my resignation from my role as councillor effective immediately.
“While you remain in this position that requires leadership, I cannot continue to work with you.”
The subject of her email referred to the ‘Highway Scheme’ on Cockpit Road, one of the main thoroughfares through the Great Kingshill ward, which Cllrs Main and Jones represent.
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Cllr Main was not available for comment, while Cllr Jones and the Council said they could not comment, as her resignation had not been submitted to the Council Clerk or ‘Proper Officer’.
A source close to the Council claimed there had been an “acrimonious falling out between Debra and Stan.”
The Council has not officially confirmed Cllr Main’s resignation; however, Councillor Linda Derrick mentioned the councillor’s departure in her October 23 blog post.
She claimed that Cllr Main’s exit may leave the Finance Committee – now down to three members – ‘inquorate’, meaning it cannot legally meet due to the requirement to have at least three members present.
Cllr Derrick also suggested that the Finance Committee meeting of October 23 publicised on the Council website had quietly been changed to October 31.
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The Council website still displays Cllr Main’s profile, which describes her as a mother-of-three with two dogs who has lived in Great Kingshill for five years.
Although a qualified teacher, the outgoing councillor is “employed full-time at a major global bank”, according to the Council.
Her resignation leaves the Council – which has struggled to fill roles – with just eight out of 15 councillors remaining.
It is understood that a total of 13 councillors have resigned from the Council since the May 2021 elections.
The Council has also lost two clerks in as many years, with a locum clerk currently overseeing Council duties.
In recent weeks, other councillors have also threatened to resign from the Council, including during the September 26 extraordinary meeting.
The meeting was held to discuss actions against Cllr Derrick, who was found to have bullied two Council clerks – a claim she denies.
Cllr Main was present at the meeting, where councillors resolved to make a formal complaint to the Buckinghamshire Council Monitoring Officer about Cllr Derrick.
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