A HEREFORDSHIRE councillor has called on a colleague to resign over her views on a town’s shops.

The row between Ross-on-Wye town councillor Chris Bartrum, who also represents the town for the Liberal Democrats on Herefordshire Council, and independent town councillor Milly Boylan, arose over Cllr Boylan’s charge that the town had descended into ‘tat tourism’.

In his Ross Gazette column, Cllr Bartrum said that Cllr Boylan, whom he did not name, had told a recent town council meeting that visitors were being drawn to the town’s many charity shops.

Rag out
Cllr Chris Bartrum's column in this week's Ross Gazette. (Tindle)

To call this ‘tat tourism’ was to insult both visitors to the town, “who are spending good money”, and also those such as himself who work in the shops – which he said was “absolutely unacceptable”.

He concluded that councillors who fail to “support everyone in our town” should “resign and make way for someone who will”.

In a lengthy response online, Cllr Boylan said the argument, not apparently recorded in the meeting’s minutes, “came about in light of five shops in Ross closing within two weeks”.

Ross has already 16 charity shops, “most selling new goods, (which) makes it extremely difficult for new retailers to open”, she added.

She said coaches are now “stopping at Ross purely as we have a huge amount of charity shops for the size of the town” – hence her ‘tat tourism’ charge.

“I am mildly amused by the way this has been framed in Cllr Bartrum’s column, as desperation to blacken me is evident, however I will not be resigning, thank you Chris,” she concluded.

Another town councillor, Daniel Lister, who as the Independents for Herefordshire candidate came second to Cllr Bartrum in 2023’s county elections, said he was “so incredibly disappointed” with Cllr Bartrum.

“I knew he liked to play the party-political game but this is a disgraceful swipe at a hard-working independent councillor that has done more for Ross-on-Wye then I believe he has,” Cllr Lister wrote.

“Perhaps I should storm into the Ross Gazette offices and demand his column is removed like a colleague of his did when Milly had a column,” he said, adding, “Is it actually time for Bartrum to stand down?”