Yesterday’s post on Ferret, revealed the use by Independent Hemsworth Town Council of a vehicle, with NO MOT and NO ROAD TAX which had been driven by non-other than Councillor Jean Eccles on the public roads of our community.
These two issues would invalidate any insurance cover on the vehicle and has highlighted what a lot of us have known for some considerable time and Ferret must pose the question on the basis of this one issue alone:
Are the Town Clerk – Alan Draper and Councillors Gordon Eccles, Jean Eccles and Jim Kenyon fit to hold Public Office?
There are two separate classes of public office involved in this case:
- The paid civil servant: Alan Draper
and
- Elected councillors: J Eccles, G Eccles, and J Kenyon.
There is enough evidence to show that Alan Draper appears to have been grossly negligent with his failure to carry out the required and basic routine checks of documentation that would literally have taken him minutes to do.
He didn’t even have to leave his chair, he could have gone online or was the community centre internet connection conveniently down again?
His failure to do those simple and basic checks put members of our community, especially our precious children, at serious risk of injury at what should be one of the most special times of the year.
Councillor Middleton queried whether a risk assessment for the “Christmas Float” was present and correct and was assured that everything was in order.
Ferret understands, that following the revelations a copy has been requested and hopes this will be shared publicly in due course.
This revelation sends the deceit and deception to a new level, bare faced lying in a Town Council meeting by Draper, Eccles and Kenyon to our elected representatives who actually were double checking everything was in order prior to voting on the motion to have a “Christmas Float”.
The Town Clerk (Alan Draper) is an employee of the Town Council, no different to any other member of staff and as such is answerable to the full Town Council.
The full town council or any councillors should now call a special town council meeting to investigate this very serious matter.
With it being a staffing issue, it would have to be held in exclusion, but Mr Draper should be immediately suspended and the matter investigated leading to a disciplinary hearing.
The Eccles’ and Kenyon should take no part in this process because of their involvement.
The Eccles and Kenyon should resign immediately and if they fail to so, as is to be expected, then the other councillors should use a motion of no confidence to highlight their unacceptable and despicable conduct that put the electorate and their families at risk and what for?
Their own self-glorification.
This could be done at the same meeting, but should be held in the part open to the public.
Let them be named and shamed if they haven’t resigned before the meeting.
Let them carry the public stigma if they fail to resign after.
Hemsworth Independent Town Council: The Christmas Debacle…
Can not attend meetings due to work commitments, can someone raise the issue of notice boards if AD says it’s in the council hands ask him when he was last in touch with them thanks
Anonymous been sending FOIs to Alan Draper and raised it several times in public meetings very forcefully asking the council about the NOTICEBOARDS and the non delivered but paid for twice Newsletters.He as replied time and time again with no date of when they will be erected.Finally after much bombarding the last update at the Meeting was he had ordered only 2 at a cost of £2.670 and stated 1 was for Fitzwilliam and 1 for west end,this met with mass objections we have insisted 1 must be in the precinct where footfall is greater and people can be updated as to what the HTC is up to especially for the parishioners who don’t have access to social media,Alan Draper also stated that planning permission would be required to erect one in the precinct so more waiting,he also informed me that the lakeside wanted another NOTICEBOARD and as the cost was high the HTC staff would make one in house and guess what the Lakeside waterpark as a wooden new NOTICEBOARD built and erected where footfall is so low ,the rest of the parishioners go on waiting unaware of the shocking goings on and wastage of the communities money think the Independent councillors prefer keeping the community in the dark but hopefully everyone will soon see the light and VOTE the lot out.
Anonymous- yes I’ll raise the question.
Thanks Cathy
Who agreed to this? Does nobody live In kinsley? Who is he trying to kid, does he expect anyone from Lowfields/springfied/up kirby road to walk upto the west end especially Oap’s he might as well have put it at the end of barnsley road,why couldn’t it have been mounted on the wall in front of the town hall anybody might think they don’t want you to see anything, But I suppose there’s method in madness. Did councillors agree to these two positions 🤔 if so what was there rational anyone know?
Anonymous the parishioners in the meeting were in dismay and the good councillors asked who decided where they were to be erected and Alan Drapers reply was they could only be erected on HTC owned land any where else needed planning position.This caused many parishioners shouting out where they should go all 2 of them to cover all our community what a joke.I think it was councillor Maxine Hird who also asked who as decided where the NOTICEBOARDS went it hadn’t been discussed by council and councillor Donna Moran also spoke to say 2 NOTICEBOARDS were not enough to cover all the Villages and again the only answer was the Town Clerk would get onto it and so the wait goes on apart from the Lakeside they have now had 1 in-house built and erected,I am still waiting for a date from Mr Draper when the 2 other NOTICEBOARDS will arrive at a cost of £2.695 and most importantly where are they being put,will keep you updated ,unlike what the Independent Councillors want to do they prefer secrecy.
Thanks for that Julie.
But isn’t the council wall on HTC land?
It is Anonymous but although footfall is in and out of the community centre the precinct seemed a better suggestion by the post office,banks etc where hopefully the parishioners with no access to social media can see what the HTC is doing and see event dates and vital contact details to get help from the wonderful voluntary organisations that our volunteers are providing which so many of our community now need help with.This council some of them don’t have a clue what’s needed by the community and some of them don’t care ,time the parishioners came first and time for change our community as so deteriorated in the last 4 years it’s time to get it back and we the community can do this together by Voting the Self indulgent lot out.
Totally agree, but the relivence to my question was perhaps this could be mounted without going through drawn out
Planning applications in other words a quick fix at least some people would see it. Another option is we can chip in and hire a person to walk around the precinct with two billboards strapped too him 😄 🤣
Anonymous – I did try to raise the question about notice boards but I’d had my two questions, so the chair didn’t allow me to ask another one.
However I had already asked Lyn so she asked the question.