Long-serving Worthing councillors bid farewell to council chamber

Two long-serving Worthing councillors bid their farewells to the council chamber on Tuesday night (April 23).
Paul Yallop and Tom Wye, pictured together in 2013Paul Yallop and Tom Wye, pictured together in 2013
Paul Yallop and Tom Wye, pictured together in 2013

Tarring’s Tom Wye and Marine’s Paul Yallop are both not standing for re-election next week.

Cllr Wye, a former mayor, is perhaps best known in the town for the stand he took on the NCP parking contract.

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Meanwhile Cllr Yallop spent more than five years as leader of Worthing Borough Council up until his resignation in 2015.

Cllr Wye thanked the current and former mayors for their support of his work as an armed forces champion.

A councillor since 2003 he made a plea to all members on behalf of the town’s charitable organisations as he felt a lot of things the council does has unintended consequences on that sector.

He said: “Every time you make a decision think: ‘Is this going to impact on the charities and good causes that happen in Worthing?’

“It’s them that make Worthing tick.”

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Cllr Yallop, who has been a councillor for 13 years, said that while there had been frustration at times, most times he had found it worthwhile and ‘certainly enjoyed my time here’.

He said: “I did not want to be popular or important, I wanted to make a difference in Worthing.”

He felt as well as protecting the vulnerable it was important Worthing was an ‘environment where people can come and work and succeed and provide for future generations’.

Both councillors received loud rounds of applause from the council chamber.