WEST and North Devon is facing a major exodus of parish councillors after refusals to sign up to a new code of conduct described as 'totally unworkable.'

Seven out of eight members of Merton Parish Council have refused to sign up to the code, Beaford Parish Council has said a blanket 'No' and Bridestowe is set to lose at least one member, with other authorities following suit.

Failure to sign means certain elections to replace those who do not agree with the new system, but there is concern that new councillors will not want to join up.

Chairman of Merton Parish Council Brian Nancekivell said the majority of his council had refused to sign the code of conduct by the date requested, which was last Sunday, but they now had two months to reflect on that decision.

'I do not disagree with the principal of this code, but it is totally unworkable in parishes of less than 300 people where councillors are involved in so many things going on in the village and so will have to declare an interest in everything,' he said.

Mr Nancekivell, who has been a councillor for 20 years, said in the case of the town square enhancement project, no councillors living around the square would be able to comment on something which was of benefit to the whole community.

'The Clinton Hall is another example — the councillors are custodian trustees so it means that we can no longer discuss requests from the committee,' he added. 'What is the point of us being here? In the past we have used our discretion when an interest is declared, but this is going way over the top.

'We might as well be in charge of Petrockstowe parish and vice- versa. By not signing this code we are making a point.'

Gill Squires from Bridestowe Parish Council said she was not against the code of conduct as such, it was just the way it was presented.

She said: 'As far as I am concerned, our little parish has behaved exactly as it is required to — I think it is a sledgehammer to crack a nut and is totally unnecessary.'

She said some of the information required was 'very intrusive' but what she objected to more than anything else was the fact she had to sign up if she wished to remain a councillor.

'I was democratically elected but I have no choice whether I sign this or not and that's not democratic.'

Mrs Squires added that many other small parishes like Bridestowe would probably face problems in keeping or attracting new councillors because of the code.

'From a planning point of view, I think there are worries that planning applications will come and go without parish councils having any input because of a lack of councillors,' she said.

West Devon Borough Council is the monitoring authority which maintains the register of parish and town council members' interest. So far, 34 of the borough's 44 parishes have signed up to the code.

Borough solicitor Catherine Offen admitted some parish clerks had told her they were worried about councillors refusing to sign up to the code.

She said: 'The Government has issued a model code of conduct and all councils were asked to adopt their own by May 5. If they don't adopt a code by that date , they will be deemed to have adopted that model code.

'They have two months from that date to say they will observe the code — failure to complete that means they will simply cease to be a council.'

Mrs Offen added councillors will also have just 28 days in which to sign a register of interests and failure to comply could result in a written complaint to the Independent Standards Board.