A FORMER mayor of Machynlleth has resigned from the town council claiming he is unable to speak out on important matters.

Gareth Jones, who works at the town’s job centre, resigned from Machynlleth Town Council on Saturday saying he had become frustrated that he was not able to raise issues identified as concerns by residents because of his job, despite understanding why the rules were in place.

While Mr Jones said he felt it was time to stand aside to let someone else without restrictions to be able to raise issues, including concerns over the running of the town council, he said he had been privileged to represent the town.

In a statement issued following his resignation, Mr Jones said: “I have deliberated over my departure for some time, it is not a decision which I took lightly but I reached the conclusion that my time is no longer well spent as a town councillor.

“My occupation quite rightly placed restrictions on what I was able to say about certain matters, so my hands were tied when it came to raising concerns about the way some things were being done. I have spoken out whenever possible, but very little is achieved by mere words alone.

“In recent months I found myself in conversation with numerous Machynlleth residents who had justifiable concerns about how certain aspects of the town council are being administered but was unable to raise those concerns on their behalf.”

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