A councillor has admitted that he didn’t have the time to take up his seat on Hammerwich Parish Council.
Conservative representative Cllr Ken Humphreys currently represents Hammerwich on Lichfield District Council and Burntwood Town Council after winning a seat in the elections in May.
But he failed to sign the agreement to take up his spot on Hammerwich Parish Council.
Cllr Humphreys said an increased workload for elected members was to blame.
“It was down to a lack of time,” he said. “Being on the district council and all the other things going on, I never got round to it.
“The Boundary Commission changed everything as you’ve now got a lot more electorate to look after and it makes for a busy life.
“It used to take me about 10 hours a week for district and five for Burntwood Town Council and Hammerwich Parish Council, but now it’s a lot more than that.
“It’s not quite a full time job now but it’s getting on that way.”
Cllr Humphreys did not rule out returning to the seat in future, but said he felt it was time for fresh faces to become involved in local politics.
“I’ve been on the council for 20-odd years and there was no election this time because there is never enough people,” he said.
“I might very well go back. There are always vacancies, but there is simply lack of time for me a the moment.
“Every time there was a meeting I wasn’t available and I was not able to go and sign the acceptance forms.
“We should be looking for new councillors. If you look at the average age of councillors now, we’re knocking on a bit.”
But Burntwood Labour councillor Sue Woodward criticised her Tory counterpart’s stance.
She said: “For Cllr Humphreys to turn his back on the electors shows a complete contempt for democracy.”
