Town clerk quits over 'differences' (From Gazette & Herald)

Town clerk quits over 'differences'

KIRKBYMOORSIDE'S town clerk Martin Brampton has resigned after differences of opinion with the market town's authority.

He said, following Monday's meeting of the council, that he had a "mixed relationship" with councillors.

The issue had come to a head at the weekend when he received correspondence from some councillors to which he had taken exception.

He claimed he had been forced in the past to rebut "wild allegations". Among the factors which had brought about his decision, he said, had been the controversy over the skateboard park in Old Road, to which he had been an objector, and new pay scales for council clerks. Mr Brampton said he had been at the bottom of the scale but the council had declined to increase the salary. "The overall relationship with the council was not always the best," he said.

Mr Brampton, an IT expert, took over from Robert Horne as town clerk 15 months ago. After leaving university, he developed a career in IT working for British Ship Research in Wallsend and ICI Billingham where his interest in modern communications technology began.

For 10 years, he was head of IT with Moore Stephens, a firm of City-based accountants, and he became an industrial analyst and IT consultant. He and his wife Maureen have lived in Kirkbymoorside for nearly 25 years.

The town mayor, Coun Nigel Richardson, said last night: "Mr Brampton did a good job for the council, especially in creating a website. But I think the skatepark issue had muddied the waters.

"It was a shock when he handed his letter of resignation to me at the end of a three-hour meeting."

He added that the council was now looking for a replacement clerk.

Updated: 10:47 Wednesday, February 23, 2005