Eight councillor resignations leaves Filey Town Council in ‘unprecedented’ situation
Filey Town Council faced an ‘unprecedented’ wave of resignations in October, leaving just enough councillors to remain legally quorate.
Eight members of Filey Town Council, including the town mayor, have resigned from the authority in recent weeks, leaving only five elected councillors to make decisions.
The authority is also without a town clerk – a key role for the administrative and legal business of parish councils – following the resignation of the clerk, Anne-Marie Benson.
An extraordinary meeting of the town council has been called for tonight (Thursday October 16), to elect a new mayor and deputy mayor and to discuss the recruitment of a replacement town clerk.
However, the meeting can only go ahead if all five remaining members attend as the council’s standing orders state that “no business may be transacted at a meeting unless at least one-third – five members – of the whole number of members of the council are present”.
The “current unrest” is understood to relate to earlier proposals from some councillors to purchase a commemorative ‘past mayor’s badge’—intended to recognise the outgoing Mayor Jacqui Houlden-Banks for her service from 2019 until May 2025.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by former Town Mayor Houlden-Banks, who did not propose the purchase of the badge.
Plans to buy the badge, which would have cost £408.46 excluding VAT, according to a report, were later scrapped.
In May, Coun Linda Randall was appointed as the town’s mayor for the 2025/26 civic year, however, she has now resigned from the authority, alongside seven other councillors.
The current Deputy Mayor, Coun Wendy Fenlon, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) on Wednesday, October 15, that she had just returned from being on leave and was not in a position to comment on the situation.
Meanwhile, another sitting councillor told the LDRS that residents have been submitting Freedom of Information requests to find out what was happening at the council, “but with no town clerk in place there is no one to answer them”.
The councillor, one of only five left on the authority, said they hoped the authority would now be able to “move forward to serve the residents of Filey.”
It is not yet clear whether elections will be held to replace the councillors who have resigned or if they will be co-opted.
The extraordinary meeting of Filey Town Council is scheduled for 7pm on Thursday, October 16, at the Council Offices in Filey.
The full list of resignations:
- Coun Janet Scotcher-Husband, resignation announced September 25
- Coun Linda Randall, (most recent town mayor) resignation announced October 8
- Coun Jacqui Houlden-Banks, (previous town mayor), resignation announced October 9
- Coun Janine Robinson, resignation announced October 9
- Coun Beverley Donoghue, resignation announced October 9
- Coun Chris Adnitt, resignation announced October 13
- Coun David Hubbard, resignation announced October 14
- Coun Karen Hubbard, resignation announced October 14