A VETERAN Lampeter town councillor is quitting after 34 years because she says she has become more and more frustrated by “red tape”.

Dorothy Williams, a member of Lampeter Town Council since 1983, is also a five-time mayor of the town, which is thought to be a Welsh record.

But she is one of five councillors – a third of the authority’s membership – who have stepped down in a move that has prompted mayor-elect Cllr Hag Harris to launch an appeal for “fresh blood”.

Reflecting on her long career in local politics, Mrs Williams said: “The job has changed quite a lot over the years and I’m a do-er rather than a talker.

“These days it seems your hands are always tied by red tape and I just find that so frustrating. There are so many things you could be doing to enhance your town, but you have to be mindful of health and safety regulations, who-owns-what and so on. In the end I’d had enough.”

The exits of Mrs Williams and fellow councillors John Davies, Andrew Carter, Elsie Dafis and Derek Wilson, brings the number of members down to 11, with Welsh Labour’s Di Mullholland the sole new recruit.

Elsie Dafis observed: “In 10 years as a councillor I’ve never known the number to be so low – it is unusual for five to finish all at once.”

But Cllr Harris revealed he would be advising the newly constituted council to delay advertising the vacancies.

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