"Our opinion no longer matters". 

That's the view of a former Amesbury town councillor who resigned last week. 

Mark Verbinnen, 33 of Oaklands Avenue, Amesbury, told the Journal that there have been several occasions recently where the town council has taken a decision as a group, "only for the Mayor to do the opposite". 

The mayor of Amesbury is Councillor Dr Monica Devendran. 

Cllr Verbinnen, who was first elected to Amesbury Town Council in 2019, says he "no longer believes that the opinion of Amesbury Town councillors makes any difference". 

He added: "There have been several occasions recently where decisions have been made, only for the Mayor to do the opposite.

"This includes the wearing of robes, the use of the Mayor's office on her own, unmanaged social media and private business pages and the location of the following fireworks evening, to name only a few."

Cllr Verbinnenn also told the Journal that Amesbury Town Council is about to lose "a fantastic" town clerk, and recently a few councillors "have blamed their own faults on [Cllr Devendran]". 

He said: "I believe the treatment of Council Staff has been well below the standard we should expect, and I call on the remaining councillors to investigate.

"Some councillors have also actively tried to go after me and my business for speaking out. Including spreading lies about premises licence applications and organisations I am part of or work with.

"I am thankful to the residents who supported me, and I appreciate that some will not like the fact I have spoken out."

He added that he has provided councillors with evidence about issues with the staff's treatment, saying: "I don’t believe it is suitable for me to go into detail, but I hope they investigate thoroughly. I leave with my head high, knowing I’ve done the right thing."

Cllr Verbinnen is remaining as a Wiltshire cllr for Amesbury East and Bulford. 

"I am proud of some of my achievements as a town councillor, including better links with Youth organisations, my part in the building of a brand new History Centre and moving the council forward by personally building the website and social media pages", he said. 

"Also, during COVID, working with Volunteers, we ran the Amesbury Community Hub, which supported 300 Amesbury residents."

Cllr Dr Devendran has been contacted for a response.