Sir,
At last Bridgnorth taxpayers know the truth about complaints over car parking fines and the introduction of external markets. They are entirely due to successive Mayor’s and Councillors ignoring the professional guidance of the Town Clerk or acting without her involvement, as clearly implied in the Town Clerk’s lengthy rebuttal of suspicions in a Journal letter.
However, in earlier Journal reports, none of the people charged fines mentioned having been “helped” by the Town Clerk as she claims. Perhaps she could tell them that any demand for a fine has to go through the courts, costing the plaintiff £1,000, thus being rarely followed up.
Again, in the Journal’s report of 15 May the ‘Made in Shropshire’ (MiS) Chair stated he had been “approached by the Town Clerk about putting on a market in Bridgnorth” and it was “after several meetings” that it was agreed to organise the first MiS market in Bridgnorth.
The Community Events Working Party (CEWP), which apparently made the decision on the MiS market, has 6 Councillors and 8 co-opted members. Assuming the latter include representatives from local businesses, why did they not consult with the Bridgnorth traders? Strangely, the CEWP Minutes do not include votes on which events to hold, but do show the Town Clerk stating what and when events will be held and which roads will be closed.
Surely some mistake somewhere?
Malcolm MacINTYRE-READ
BAHons – FRSA – Churchill Fellow
