MICHAEL Hudston has resigned from his position as Calne Town Councillor for Calne Central ward with immediate effect, citing 'petty complaints' and 'vitriolic abuse' as his reasons for stepping down.
Taking to his online blog yesterday, Mr Hudston said: "When I originally decided to become a town councillor, I did it with the knowledge that it would mean some meetings, helping residents where I can and doing what I can to help improve the town. What I wasn’t prepared for was dealing with the petty complaints, the pathetic moans, and especially not the vitriolic abuse, and personal attacks, which I have been subject to."
He went on to say that when he undertook the role as a volunteer, he had assumed he'd be treated with respect and that residents would have a basic understanding of which council is responsible for which services. An ongoing problem with complaints within the town is that they are often misdirected toward Calne Town Council, not Wiltshire Council and vice versa. For instance, the empty units within the town centre and who rents them is not in the hands of Calne Town Council, it is in the hands of Wiltshire Council, similarly our roads and decisions of closures and roadworks.
Mr Hudston added: "I am resigning as a town councillor with immediate effect. This is all thanks to an increasing number of pathetic, small-minded, ignorant people, who think the world owes them a living, and think just because I am a councillor, I must help them, and do everything for them and if not, they moan, gripe, swear at you, then accuse you of taking back handers, bribes, or being responsible for the death of their cats!"
Another nail in the coffin of Mr Hudston's councillor tenure came when he involved himself in a Facebook post querying who was allowed to use the Calne skate bowl - "I lost my cool with a resident from another town who was trying to tell us, Calne Town Council, that we should not let our kids use our skate park in our town. I had initially been a touch offensive in my response as I was very annoyed at the time, but quickly decided to edit it out, within a couple of minutes as it happens. Aparently as a councillor I am not allowed to express my anger or frustration with idiots, who hide behind their keyboards."
He added that Calne Town Council must also 'bear some responsibility' for his resignation, with far too many meetings and working groups to attend. Mr Hudston said that having over 55 meetings a year was beyond his expectations when taking on the role, especially when he also has a full-time job.
The final straw came when Mr Hudston was subjected to 'a very public, very personal, deliberately aimed, homophobic attack' for which he was forced to involve the police recently.
However, the Banking Hub soon to be opening at the site of the former launderette will be one of the legacies Mr Hudston leaves behind him. "It was me, that without any prompting from anyone else, successfully applied for a banking hub for this town, but despite this, the most resonating comment I got was not a thank you for trying to improve banking after we were abandoned by the last bank in town, but rather “Why can’t we have a real bank in the town?“
The hub will be opening on Friday 6th December offering a shared banking space, similar to a traditional bank branch, but available to everyone. The hub will consist of a counter service operated by Post Office employees, where customers of any bank can withdraw and deposit cash, make bill payments and carry out regular banking transactions.
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