Poor, poor Porlock
James Garrett investigates a rumbling seed of discontent at Porlock Parish Council as a series of complaints about councillors are made by a mystery writer...
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Poor, Poor Porlock
Eighteen months ago, Porlock parish council imploded amid claims of a 'toxic atmosphere.' All 12 councillors, including the chair, resigned within eight months of being elected. If you want to read a little more background, you can find our original article by clicking on this link
Ahead of this week's annual parish meeting, James Garrett returned to see if and how it is recovering.
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Visitors have begun returning to the Porlock Vale, braving the post-Easter holiday winds and showers. The biggest mistake likely to be made by most will be to turn up at The Ship Inn - only to discover there's no record of their lunch booking.
That's because, they then discover, there are two Ships! The one on Porlock's High Street is known locally as the Top Ship, while that on the quayside in Porlock Weir, 1.5 miles away, is the Bottom Ship. Landlords and lunchers generally forgive each other.
That said, forgiveness remains in short supply in local political circles. Few people were prepared to be quoted by name for this article, intended to see how Porlock has weathered the storms of the past two years.
By late 2022 seven of the 12 parish councillors elected in May that year had resigned, amid complaints of a 'toxic atmosphere.' You may recall similar complaints in last week’s special, from a different corner of Somerset.
Five new councillors were elected to replace them, their arrival promptly leading to the resignation of the remaining members of the council, including its then-chair, Chris Wood.
He said at the time, "People who have been doing the sniping now find themselves on the council. It is difficult to contemplate working together."
Those accused of 'sniping' would, more likely, have described themselves as seeking to hold councillors to account at a time of considerable controversy.
The councillor-less council was also without a clerk. Debbie Taylor-Pitkin had also resigned amid allegations of "possible financial irregularities."