THE future of a village parish council is hanging in the balance after all of its councillors resigned following the introduction of a new compulsory code of conduct.

All seven Salwarpe parish councillors stepped down at a meeting last Friday, June 14, due to the Government's new Parish Council's (Model Code of Conduct) Order 2001.

In March, the Droitwich Spa Advertiser revealed all of the councillors had refused to sign the compulsory document which came into force in May.

They said they disagreed with a number of the aspects of the code and claimed it was too intrusive. One of the main concerns was the declaration of interests.

However, at the meeting last week they did sign the code of conduct but then all resigned.

Wychavon District Council will now decide its fate and is looking for seven new people to take on the role of councillors for the Salwarpe parish.

The council can run with a minimum of three councillors but if people don't come forward the district council will look at alternative options.

Speaking to the Advertiser, the district council's monitoring officer, Ian Marshall, said:

"I think the councillors signed the code of conduct because it was a compulsory document and they felt that they should respect their duty to do so.

"However, then they all resigned because they no longer wished to serve under the new code of conduct."

The former chairman of the parish council, Jon Mellor, declined to comment.

If you live in Salwarpe and would like to apply to be on the parish council you can contact Mr Marshall on 01386 565000.