Canvey town clerk quits after three months off sick

Julie Abel was the most senior of the three members of staff employed by the town council, at its office in Canvey High Street.

She took sick leave just days after councillor Dave Blackwell stepped down as chairman, in March, in a row over whether the council should hold celebrations for Armed Forces Day, which took place on Saturday.

Councillors were behind staging an event for the occasion.

But Mrs Abel felt it would be impossible for herself and her part-time assistant, the only two members of staff at the time, to dedicate sufficient time to make the day a success.

Tensions had been mounting in the council, with some councillors and many members of the Canvey Island Independent Party – who hold all but one seat on the council – frustrated at slow progress.

Mr Blackwell, who is leader of the independend party, and still a town councillor, said: “The council wants to get a lot of things done.

“That’s why, when Julie said she didn’t have enough staff for the Armed Forces Day, we set up a working party to take the pressure off.

“We have just employed an events officer to take the pressure off as well.”

Mrs Abel joined the council from Ongar Parish Council in January of last year, almost 12 months after the town council was set up, in May 2007.

About 3,000 people signed a petition calling for Canvey to have its own council, but there is pressure on the authority to prove it is worth the extra £20 Canvey residents pay a year.

The council has employed a temporary clerk, and will begin the search for a permanent replacement soon. Mr Blackwell promised Mrs Abel’s resignation would not hold up any of the council’s projects.

Current chairman, Nick Harvey, said he was disappointed at Mrs Abel’s decision, but understood there had been a lot of pressure on her. He said: “When Julie started, all the town council had was an empty building.

“She had a lot to do to get the council up and running.

“You can’t do everything at a click of a finger.”