Wixams parish councillor told “do the right thing and go”
Around 40 members of the public attended a Parish Council meeting this week, some publicly calling on parish councillor David Whiteley to resign after he was accused of racism - which he denies
A Wixams parish councillor has denied being “racist and misogynist” after angry parishioners called for his resignation at a public meeting.
Around 40 members of the public attended the Wixams Parish Council meeting on Tuesday (August 13), with some publicly calling on parish councillor David Whiteley to resign.
The complaints came after concerns were raised over “racist overtones” and other comments made in a letter to planners about an application for a home-salon.
But cllr Whiteley denied the claims and said no one has presented any evidence of wrongdoing.
During the public participation part of the meeting, Wixams resident, Leon Staszak, said there had been a “big public backlash” to the parish council’s response to the Woodpecker Gardens planning application during April’s meeting.
“Fifty people turned up to a parish council meeting, over 180 people signed a petition asking for Mr sic Whiteley’s removal from this parish council,” he said.
“And so far he hasn’t stood down.
“It seems to me that Mr Whiteley believes that the reason that the ‘mob’, as he calls it, turned up to address those concerns was because they were in support of the planning application itself.
“You need to be aware that people just turned up to talk to you and they signed that petition because what you wrote in this planning application response is abhorrent,” he said.
“It’s disgusting, it is shameful, and you bring shame on this parish council and the parishioners, not the mob, the parishioners, who turned up to ask you to leave.
“You need to resign, you crossed the line, you cannot do this in the public sector, you cannot write reports like this, you need to resign.
“And anybody else who supports this also needs to resign,” he said.
Borough councillor Graeme Coombes (Conservative), who is also a parish councillor, said: “I believe that there was racist content in that response, and I’m not someone who throws that word around loosely, I believe it was racist content and I think it’s wholly inappropriate.
“People should do the decent thing and consider their position and recognise the sentiment of the public,” he said.
Mr Staszak added: “It’s been brought to my attention that some of the language that Mr Whiteley has been using within the parish council and with other parish councillors include that he wants to destroy people, and that he enjoys breaking people, and I have personally heard him used. the term ‘cancer’ to describe other members of this parish council.
“Chair, do you think that’s appropriate language for a parish councillor to use?” Mr Staszak asked.
Parish councillor Clinton Taylor, who was standing in as chair, said: “I don’t think it’s appropriate, it’s not necessarily my position vice chair either to control.”
Mr Staszak said: “But you understand cancer is an awful word to use to describe other people on the committee isn’t it?
“When you want to be co-opted you put your hand up to say that I’m prepared to work with other members of the parish council as a committee.
“Not that you’re going to destroy them, that you enjoy breaking them, or that they’re a cancer,” he said.
Parish councillor Anthony Musgrove asked parish councillor Whiteley if he would respond to what had been said about him.
Parish councillor Whiteley said: “I’m not going to answer that at the moment, because I’m just going to be attacked.
“I’ve been called racist, I’ve been called misogynist, I’ve been called a number of things.
“There’s been absolutely no evidence whatsoever presented,” he said.
“I’m not going to get into a back and forth, and a great big argument with people.
“I’m not racist, I’m not misogynist, if people have evidence then let them bring it forward,” he said.