Town clerk's 'no pay' blow

Church Stretton Town Council may receive a token payment of £100 because of clerk Christine Harvey's efforts - but only if district councillors give the go-ahead.

Mrs Harvey today said she thought it was unfair that she was being asked to work for nothing.

South Shropshire District Council issues concessionary travel passes to the elderly. Mrs Harvey has so far issued about 467 of the permits for the district council, but the authority has not given her, or her town council, a penny.

Mrs Harvey has written to the authority asking it to pay the town council for her time. However, her pleas are set to fall on deaf ears.

She said: "I asked the district council to pay for the work that we do on its behalf. Church Stretton is a large town and there is a lot to do, without taking on extra work. It is unfair that our parishioners pay our wages and the district council expects us to work for it for nothing."

Mrs Harvey made it clear she was not seeking money for herself, but for the town council for her time.

"We spend five or six minutes issuing each pass. A lot of the recipients are elderly and we have to tell them how the system works," she added.

The district council's executive committee will consider Mrs Harvey's request when it meets on Monday. The most her town council could receive is £100.

Today, Mike Geary, head of revenue services at the district council, said: "The council has not previously made any contribution to the cost of administration."

A report to the executive committee says Church Stretton is the busiest outreach post in the district and has issued 467 permits, which is 12.3 per cent of the 3,085 total.

Mr Geary added: "Despite the fact that the volume of permits issued by Church Stretton Town Council can be considered reasonably significant, there has not been any previous agreement to reimburse administration costs."

By Andy Richardson