Deputy mayor quits her council seat

* Former deputy mayor Issy Richards. 

The deputy mayor has resigned her seat on Llangollen Town Council.

Isobel Richards quit after last Tuesday’s online council meeting and says the reason for her leaving is that she found herself disagreeing with the direction the council was taking.

Isobel, or Issy, Richards was elected to the council is May 2017 and became deputy mayor in 2018.

She served as chair of the council’s Asset Management Committee and oversaw a number of improvements to the Town Hall.

She also chaired the Remembrance Sunday Working Group which was responsible for the VE Day 75^th anniversary celebrations in early May. This was an online commemoration and celebration of the historical landmark, known in Welsh as Parti Aros Gartref.

The former senior executive officer with the Legal Aid Board (Law Society), who was born in Llangollen and attended Ysgol Dinas Bran, was also a member of the council’s HR and Budget Planning Group and the council’s representative on the governing body of Ysgol Y Gwernant.

She is known as a strong supporter of Welsh language and culture and organised the Sing for Wales event during lockdown and an earlier tribute to poet Hedd Wyn at a remembrance concert staged by the council in the Town Hall.

Another of her achievements was, along with former councillor Karen Edwards, helping to secure funding for the metal poppies along the rear planted area of Centenary Square.

She is the third town councillor to resign within 12 months, following the departures of Andrew Beech and Karen Edwards.

Ms Richards said: “I have resigned as a councillor as I found myself disagreeing with the direction being taken by the council but it's been a pleasure representing the people of Llangollen.

“I would like to thank Charlie Jones, the Town Hall Facilities Officer, for her enthusiasm, the Town Clerk Gareth Thomas for his guidance and support, and my many volunteer friends in the area.

“I will continue to be a member of Shape My Llangollen, the town team preparing the official response to Denbighshire County Council’s new Local Development Plan on behalf of the Town Council.”

She added: “I would like to pay tribute to the people of Llangollen who have pulled together over the past four months and helped each other in the very difficult circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown.”