A TOWN councillor for Malmesbury has resigned but will be continuing in his role as a Wiltshire Councillor for the area.

Cllr Simon Killane, who ran as an independent candidate during the general election, announced his resignation at a meeting of the town council's Policy and Resources Committee on June 9.

The meeting included a discussion of the process of Mayor Making, an annual tradition in which the mayor and deputy mayor designate are officially chosen.

This year’s mayor making was the most controversial in years after a last minute change of heart saw town councillors elect former Mayor Cllr John Gundry over Cllr Kim Power, who was deputy mayor during the last civic year.

Cllr Killane wrote a statement in favour of Cllr Power after the vote, describing her loss as a “cruel rejection”.

Cllr Killane stated that he had been re-elected as the chairman of Wiltshire Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, which scrutinises the council's £900million budget, but would not comment on why he had stepped down from the town council.

Despite spearheading the town’s neighbourhood planning process Cllr Killane has been the target of a campaign calling for his resignation and has had official complaints from town councillors and residents alike.