Bingham Deserves Better petition that could dissolve the town council set to reach threshold of signatures for consideration by Rushcliffe Borough Council
| Updated: 12:38, 01 March 2021
A petition with the power to dissolve a town council is set to reach its threshold of signatures for consideration.
Created by Bingham residents, the extraordinary petition comes after months of publicly-aired issues on the town council and concern over how it is run â which have been extensively reported by The Advertiser.
The Bingham Deserves Better petition launched on February 18 has attracted more than 800 signatures in just over a week.
Bingham. Picture: Bingham Deserves Better petition.
Bingham Town Council approves increase in council tax but will burn through half of its reserves this year
| Updated: 16:33, 15 February 2021
A council has approved an increase in its annual precept Ââ the amount it asks the public to contribute through council tax.
The increase agreed by Bingham Town Council in a last-minute amendment was less than originally proposed â but will reduce its reserves by almost half.
Tony Wallace, a councillor, was applauded by fellow members when he criticised the late changes to the budget, proposed by the chairman of the policy and resource committee, Francis Purdue-Horan.
Bingham Market Place. (42954219)
Mr Wallace said the governing Conservative group had issued the amendments just three hours before the meeting, and the original draft budget had not even been considered.
Footage of Bingham Town Council meeting draws comparisons to bitter Handforth Parish Council meeting that went viral
| Updated: 17:07, 09 February 2021
Video footage has been released of a town council meeting that has drawn comparisons to the bitter Handforth Parish Council meeting that went viral last week.
The footage is from an extraordinary meeting of Bingham Town Council from June 2, 2020, in which the Mayor, John Stockwood, faced a vote of no confidence.
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It shows Mr Stockwood muting members while they were speaking and using his casting vote to push the vote of no confidence into confidential matters, despite arguments that it was of public interest.
Newark: Bingham Town Council mayor uses casting vote to no longer allow questions from public in open session
| Updated: 14:33, 08 January 2021
The mayor of a town council used his casting vote to pass a motion to no longer allow questions or comments from the public in open session.
Under-fire John Stockwood, who has been criticised during virtual meetings of Bingham Town Council for his handling of certain issues, will now ask for questions in advance of meetings and decide if they will be aired.
He said he was following the approach used by Rushcliffe Borough Council. However, the borough council said it used a system where decisions were made by an independent officer in conjunction with an elected member to ensure inpartiality.