A TEST Valley Borough councillor has pledged his commitment to his constituents despite living an hour away from the community he serves.

In a letter to the Andover Advertiser, Andover town councillor Christopher Ecclestone queried the ability of Enham Alamein councillor Alex Brook’s ability to serve his community while living in Calne, Wiltshire, and called for him to step down.

In Mr Ecclestone’s letter he said: “I have been asked by several constituents to clarify what is the situation of the councillor for the Test Valley Borough ward of Enham Alamein who seems to have departed the town, if not its political stage.

“Investigations reveal that he has indeed left not only the town and the borough and the county but now lives in Chippenham or thereabouts.

“Apparently he still manages to turn up at council meetings and qualifies for his stipend as a councillor, but voters are concerned as to how effective, or even how interested, he is in his constituents considering that his links to his ward are now almost non-existent.

“Seems that while he would not be able to run again due to lacking the residency requirements on all three levels he can ‘hang in there’ legally until 2019.

“Is this good enough?

“It’s time for him to ‘do the right thing’ and stand down from TVBC and if he is that interested in local government then run again in his new location.”

Cllr Brook told the Advertiser: “I have recently moved for personal reasons.

"I remain wholly committed to representing the residents of the Alamein ward and the wider town and borough, for which I was elected, and as I have done diligently since 2011.

“I continue to attend meetings both in the ward and at Test Valley Borough Council on a regular basis and I look forward to continuing to serve the community of Alamein to the best of my ability.”

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