Town councillor resigns from his post
A town councillor has stood down from his position to avoid a conflict of interest with a charity trust of which he is chairman.
Dr John Morgan was the ward councillor for Llanerchyddol in Welshpool for six years, but handed in his resignation this week, saying he wanted to distance himself from the town council for the sake of the Burgesses Land Trust.
He said: "The town council administers the Burgesses Land Trust which was founded by Act of Parliament in 1761 and the original endowment of land was made in 1324, so nearly 700 years ago. The terms of the Act make it clear that money is to be spent on two objectives – to benefit the edifices of Welshpool Town Council and to look after the poor and needy of the town.
"Because the charity has been looked after by the town council we've particularly taken advice on its governance, but it's become more important as charity law has developed and people are doing things a lot differently to how they did things 300 years ago. It's apparent that the town council could, if it continued to manage the day-to-day business of the trust and grant itself money, be seen to act in a conflict of interests."
