It is with regret that I announce that Councillor David Brickhill has tendered his resignation from Cheshire East Council’s Cabinet, because of health reasons.This has also been reported on the Crewe Chronicle website.
Wesley continues with the following...
I am delighted that a colleague of his experience will continue to serve Cheshire East and look forward to his return in good health and able to shoulder new responsibilities as opportunities present themselves.
I would like to thank David for the contribution he has made during the Council’s challenging period of transition. His efforts have always been wholehearted and he has applied himself conscientiously at all times.
I echo these comments and wish David all the best. I hope that he makes it back to full health quickly.
However, it is painfully obvious that some will say his resignation is not due to health at all, and is actually due to the current crisis surrounding the implementation of parking charges in Congleton. As I've said it would all along, this is causing a riot in Congleton and many have focussed on David as the source of these problems.
This came to a head recently with an article in the Congleton Chronicle which had gained access to some of David's responses on the subject. Some details here: http://www.chronicleseries.com/article.asp?id=1925
I think this is a bit unfair. Aside from the local ward members who are trying to keep on the right side of the local voters, many Councillors would have done the same thing. Personally, I certainly would be looking to harmonise parking, although my preference would be to offer similar free parking in the others towns rather than charging for Congleton. This would obviously be conditional on plugging the gap in the finances.
Anyway. I'll be interested to see who Wesley asks to fill the post. With the gritters on the road 24/7 and a huge increase in the number of Potholes due to the inclement weather, this is one of the most critical cabinet positions at present.
