Seven councillors resign at once from Yarm Town Council
The seven Yarm Town Council members said they had quit immediately on Thursday night as “their positions have become increasingly unproductive”. They also said they had “lost a very good town clerk”, who herself resigned in May.
The shock councillors’ resignations come days after one of their number apologised and retracted comments he made in a meeting almost two years ago prompting three of the remaining councillors to sue him. However no specific mention was made of this in a statement issued by the outgoing council chairman.
Councillor John Coulson – who continues to represent Yarm as a member of Stockton Council – said: “It is with regret that the following councillors have resigned from Yarm Town Council on Thursday, June 5, with immediate effect. They feel they can no longer continue working in their voluntary roles, as, in their individual opinions, their positions have become increasingly unproductive.
(Image: Yarm Town Council chairman John Coulson, left, was subject to a motion of no confidence brought by C)
“The councillors have worked extremely hard, despite the well-documented difficulties of Yarm Town Council. The councillors apologise to residents of Yarm who voted for them.”
He said he was resigning as chairman and ceremonial mayor, alongside Cllrs Philip Addison, Steve Atkinson, Marje Blair, Joyce Hardy, Peter Monck and Yvonne Pybus. He added: “It is the view of all of the resigning councillors that, earlier this year, YTC lost a very good town clerk who had pulled together the 2025 Remembrance Sunday, annual fair and Christmas lights switch-on events with incredible results and first-class feedback.
“The resigning councillors were very sad to see the town clerk go, but completely understood her reasons, and would like to place on record their thanks for the hard work undertaken, often, in their view, in the most challenging of circumstances. We individually look forward to the future, and redirecting our energies towards more productive outlets.”
The en masse departure leaves the council with just four members: Cllrs Brian Newcombe, Pamela Smailes, Bob Wegg and Barbara Wegg. The latter three councillors spoke of a “horrendous” experience this week after one of the leaving members, Cllr Monck, made a statement retracting and apologising for allegations he made against them in a town council meeting – where he unsuccessfully called on them to resign – and in emails and on social media in 2023.
(Image: Councillor Peter Monck, chairman of Yarm Town Council, in front of the restored Yarm Town Hall. Pict)
The statement was made to settle their legal claims against him alleging defamation and harassment. He accepted his comments caused Cllrs Smailes, Wegg and Wegg serious harm and led to them being subjected to abuse by members of the public, and agreed to pay their legal costs. The three councillors said they took legal action because they felt they had to clear their names.
(Image: Yarm Town Council members (l-r) Councillors Pam Smailes, Barbara Wegg and Bob Wegg. Picture: LDRSLDR)
Cllr Smailes said after she was informed of the resignations: “It’s a shock. We now have to have a meeting, the four of us, to get our heads around it.
“We’re still quorate. There’s going to have to be a by-election, I would say, which is going to cost Yarm money.
“We can still cope. There’s four councillors left and we’ll just have to cope and put in place a chairman and a vice chairman.”
She said they had an interim clerk who had been told of the resignations and would inform Stockton Council.
Yarm Town Council operates services including more than 100 allotments, Yarm Cemetery and Chapel, Snaith’s and Willey Flatts fields and play areas, woodland, floral decorations and benches, annual events, the war memorial and town hall, which now contains the new Yarm Heritage Centre, a project where Cllr Monck worked for four years to restore the 18th-century grade II listed building. The council maintains the enclosed churchyard at St. Mary Magdalene Church and owns Yarm Fellowship Hall and Yarm Bowling Club.
While meetings have dealt with many local issues constructively, the council has had a tumultuous history at times, with heated exchanges, factions and talk of efforts to wipe out “bullying, intimidation and undermining”. A flashpoint came in late 2023 where meetings heard references to alleged persecution, questions over finances and “accusations of mismanagement, misrepresentation, poor governance”, but councillors expressed a hope to move on and work together. Two other councillors resigned in October of that year for health or personal reasons, both referring to difficulties and disruption in the council.