Midsomer Norton Town Councillors have been 'summoned to an Extraordinary Meeting of the Town Council' tonight (Monday, 23rd January) at 5.30pm following the resignation of the Deputy Town Clerk and Councillor Christian Griffiths.

This comes after The Journal reported the resignation of Midsomer Norton's Town Clerk just two weeks ago (Monday, 9th January).

The Councillors will meet to discuss the appointment of a Locum Clerk in the absence of Donna Ford, Midsomer Norton's previous Town Clerk, as well as proposed dates for the recruitment process.

In a letter to The Journal, one resident spoke of the resignations, saying: "This week Midsomer Norton Town Council is meeting to discuss the recruitment process for a new Town Clerk. What your readers may not know is that as well as the Clerk resigning, Councillor Christian Griffiths and the Deputy Town Clerk have also resigned.

"I do not know whether these resignations are related to the Town Council Budget, but their timing certainly suggests that something is very wrong at the Town Council, not least because we are only months away from May’s elections.

"Through your letters pages I’d like to urge the Mayor to make an urgent public statement clarifying exactly what is going on."

When asked about the resignations, Deputy Mayor Gordon Mackay, writing in a personal capacity, told The Journal : "I think it’s a great shame our Deputy Clerk has decided to hand in their notice so shortly after the Clerk. Both our Clerk and Deputy have been great assets to the Council these last few years and will be sorely missed, not least at this difficult time as Councillors work to finalise a budget which balances the needs and aspirations of the town while keeping any rise in the precept as low as possible.

"Many people don’t realise that Town Councillors are completely unpaid for their work which is often in addition to full-time paid jobs. Sadly, Cllr Griffiths is the third Councillor to resign their position on the Council since the last election in 2019.

"The important work of the Council must go on, and more than ever, we need strong leadership until the elections in May. I for one would encourage as many people to stand as possible as the Council rebuilds a new team for the next four years."

The Journal will update on this following the meeting.