ANDOVER residents have had their say on whether the town council has ‘lost the faith’ of the public it serves.

Debate was sparked last week, after documents produced by Andover Town Council officers raised the issue of “public perception”, and suggested that residents of the town have “lost faith” in their representatives.

Some councillors felt that ‘little weight’ should be given to comments on social media, arguing that it is not representative of the wider public. However, others said that the council needs to ‘do better’.

The Advertiser asked our readers whether or not they have lost faith in the town council. Out of 132 respondents on our poll, 95 per cent answered ‘yes’ and five per cent answered ‘no’.

READ MORE: Have Andover residents ‘lost faith’ in their town council?

Readers justified their choices on our Facebook page, citing issues including transparency and lack of action.

Others felt that the issue was with certain councillors, not the authority as a whole.

Mark Farren said: “Yes, faith in THIS Town Council is at an all-time low, and rightly so. The vast majority of the current crop place their own self-importance way above doing anything good for the town. They cost us a lot too.”

Michael Parker added: “For 2.5 years we have been trying to get an allotments site for the north of the town. In the end, due to the inaction of the ATC we had to go sort it ourselves. All the council wanted to do is throw the request around the allotment committee month after month, not actually doing anything.”

And Terry Whenman wrote: "How many people in Andover even realise we have a town council? By the comments already made, we’d be doing just as well without it.”

However, Jonathan Farrow wrote: “Personally, I've lost faith in certain councillors not in the ATC. A well run ATC would be beneficial for Andover, but a few councillors seem to have an ego and enjoy the sound of their own voice rather than doing what is best for the town.

“Kick them out at the next election and vote for people that really want to help the town and not themselves.”

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