Furious shop owners in a market town dubbed ‘Chelsea on Sea’ due to the number of second homes have banned the leader of the Parish council over his ‘genuine hatred’ of them. Dennis Clark, 77, has faced calls to step down from Burnham Market Parish council in Norfolk after making the remarks in a newspaper interview.
His ‘incendiary’ remarks have seen him banned from several local stores, as he claims he has been the victim of a ‘witch hunt’ and vowed to continue in the post.
Burnham Market has been at the centre of controversy over the number of second homes in the village with opinion in the village divided.
Tim Roberts, who owns NoTwenty9 restaurant and three shops next door, is leading the charge, while other traders also say Mr Clark is not welcome on their premises.
Mr Roberts is calling on Mr Clark to resign by midnight on February 29 and threatening to call a parish meeting to oust him if he doesn’t.
But retired oil industry worker Mr Clark said: “My resignation is being called for without justification.
“It feels like a witch-hunt is being organised. I shall not resign because I have done nothing wrong.
“The parish clerk has received an e-mail from Tim saying if I don’t resign by tomorrow they’re going to call a parish meeting.
“I’m an elected parish councillor, nominated as chairman by the parish council and as far as I’m aware, he has no standing in the village that could make me resign.
“With all the pressure on my wife and I, it might be easier to just throw the towel in but why should I be bullied out of it?”
Mr Clark said the impact on his wife, Debbie, had been “dreadful”. “She feels that she can’t walk in the village, that there’s going to be a feeling of hatred,” he said.
Mr Clark said he had been shopping in Burnham Market without any issues since the news broke he would be banned by some shopkeepers.
He said: “My wife and I don’t tend to use – and I hesitate to use the words – tourist shops because they don’t sell what we need, but we do buy what we need day-to-day in the village.”
Mr Clark claims he was misrepresented by a national newspaper, which on Friday quoted him as saying there was a “genuine hatred” for second home owners among some villagers.
The remarks prompted anger among business owners, with Mr Roberts saying the village famed for its upmarket eateries and independent boutiques would die without the money second homers and holidaymakers bring in.
He described Mr Clark’s comments as “incendiary and uncalled for”.
Mr Clark said the impact on his wife, Debbie, had been “dreadful”.
“She feels that she can’t walk in the village, that there’s going to be a feeling of hatred,” he said.
Mr Clark said he had been shopping in Burnham Market without any issues since the news broke he would be banned by some shopkeepers.
He said: “My wife and I don’t tend to use – and I hesitate to use the words – tourist shops because they don’t sell what we need, but we do buy what we need day-to-day in the village.”
Mr Clark claims he was misrepresented by a national newspaper, which on Friday quoted him as saying there was a “genuine hatred” for second home owners among some villagers.
The remarks prompted anger among business owners, with Mr Roberts saying the village famed for its upmarket eateries and independent boutiques would die without the money second homers and holidaymakers bring in.
He described Mr Clark’s comments as “incendiary and uncalled for”.
Mr Roberts confirmed he had given the parish council a deadline for Mr Clark’s resignation and a parish meeting would be held if he did not.
He said while the meeting did not have the power to force his resignation, he hoped it might “focus the minds” of the parish council.
Mr and Mrs Clark live on the same leafy lane as Mr Roberts, in a home they built after having the 1930s property which stood on the site demolished four years ago.
Mr Clark said they had previously lived in Thornham for 15 years and decided to move to Burnham Market to “downsize” on commencing their retirement.
The village is one of a number of coastal communities which have voted to adopt neighbourhood plans stipulating any new property must be a principal residence, where someone lives full time.
They include Heacham, Old Hunstanton, Holme and Blakeney, forming an almost unbroken line along 30 miles of the Norfolk coastline.
Locals fear the boom in second homes and holiday lets has driven up house prices, caused a shortage of rented properties and “hollowed-out” communities.
