AN annual parish meeting is scheduled later in May to allow villagers near Wellington to have their say in public about how their local council has been riven with bitter controversy over the past 12 months.

Burlescombe Parish Council last year increased its council tax on residents by 137 per cent and announced plans to rebrand itself as a ‘town council’ and appoint a ‘mayor’ for its fewer than 1,000 population.

The controversy caused such bitterness that the entire council and its clerk resigned soon after, leaving Mid Devon District Council to appoint four of its councillors to act as a ‘caretaker parish council’ until new elections costing £5,000 could be held.

The parish council’s website was taken down and associated email addresses were lost, and the hard drive of the authority’s laptop was found to have been wiped of information when it was handed over to temporary clerk Sue McGeever.

The new council has since taken advice on legal action over the deletion of files and historic councillor emails and a potential breach of contract around the website management fee being paid in advance until the end of the financial year.

At the same time, the new councillors agreed to increase council tax even more this year, by 185 per cent.

New chairman Cllr Fran Box also had to raise concerns with the Devon Association of Local Councils relating to parish polls, elections, vexatious activity, and the correct procedures for handing over parish council documentation.

Several attempts to hold by-elections to fill councillor vacancies were unsuccessful because nobody put themselves forward as candidates, while there were also no applications for the post of clerk.

Members of Canonsleigh Residents Association then exercised rights to call a parish meeting in January this year to discuss the council precept, but it was cancelled at the eleventh hour after the council issued a statement.

An association spokesperson said: “Their tone and approach have fostered a toxic environment, making constructive discussion impossible.

“The parish council’s recent communications have created a divisive and unproductive atmosphere.

“Our intention was to provide an open forum to discuss the precept.

“However, the council’s focus on the possibility of a parish poll, despite assurances to the contrary, has undermined the purpose of the meeting.”

The council said on social media it feared a parish poll might be called at the meeting, which could cost up to £8,000, the financial risk of which had to be factored into its budget and the precept which funded the Burlescombe council.

This year’s annual parish meeting will be held in Burlescombe and Westleigh Community Hall at 6pm on May 21.

A Burlescombe council spokesperson said although organised by the council, it was not a council meeting but ‘your chance as a community to get together to discuss anything relevant to the parish’.

They said: “It is an informal event at which the council will share an overview of their activities, organisations and voluntary/community groups may provide updates, and residents can bring ideas or ask questions.”