Councillors Quit Conservatives In Row Over Green Space
Written by HFM News on 27th February 2024
Seven councillors in Rothwell have quit the Conservative party in protest at plans to turn a green space into a temporary stopping site for travellers.
The members of Rothwell Town Council will now stand as independents, including two councillors who also sit on North Northamptonshire Council.
They are unhappy at the way the Tory-run NNC have dealt with the proposal to create the facility off junction 3 of the A14, which is opposed by many residents.
Cllr Cedwien Brown (centre) and Cllr Joseph Smyth (right) are among seven Conservatives to have quit the party & are pictured at a protest with Cllr Jim Hakewill Pic: Andy Carpenter
A resignation letter sent to the Kettering Constituency Conservative office is signed by Cllrs Cedwien Brown, Joseph Smyth, Mark Spendlove, Karl Sumpter, Ray Davis, Mark Cox and Chris Fox and says they are ‘fed up of being ignored and are embarrassed to admit they represent the Conservatives.’
It says the action is to stand against those who are determined to destroy the green space, which Rothwell Town Council have been working to enhance, both for the benefit of biodiversity and the community at large for a number of years.
Cllr Brown and Cllr Smyth had already rebelled against the inclusion of £1.3m in NNC’s budget for the temporary traveller stopping site, which the town council wants to become a pocket park.
Cllr Brown declared it an act of ‘environmental vandalism’.
NNC says the traveller site plan is not a ‘done deal’ and that it still has to go through a formal planning process.
