Former members of a defunct community council were under fire yesterday for claiming the local authority forced them to quit.
Ellon’s annual festive programme was thrown into doubt when members of the town’s watchdog group resigned en masse.
Local Aberdeenshire councillors have vowed to work with other members of the community to ensure the Christmas events go ahead.
The community council had organised the annual lights switch-on and display for the past decade.
Along with a fireworks show, yuletide parade and visit from Santa, it has attracted tens of thousands of visitors to the town
The community council members stepped down after claiming they had been told by the local authority the body had “insufficient numbers” to continue operating.
The minimum number of community council members required in Aberdeenshire is 10, and the Ellon group’s membership had dipped below that.
But now Aberdeenshire Council has responded to claims it effectively wound-up the community council.
At a meeting of the local authority’s Formartine area committee in the town yesterday, area manager Elaine Brown revealed the community council did not disclose that its membership had fallen to seven in August following a resignation.
She said: “The issue of a lack of sufficient members for Ellon Community Council to operate and the failure to attract new members has been an ongoing discussion for some time.
“The recent resignations of all remaining members was of their own volition and without warning – an area manager cannot simply choose to shut down a community council, which is an elected body.”
Mrs Brown said an election would have to be held to reinstate the group.
Last night, Sandy McDougall, the former vice-chairman of the community council, said: “The issue is Mrs Brown was the person who told us that we had no decision-making power.
“In our view that was an untenable situation – if you can’t make decisions or spend money you are effectively closed.”
However he added that plans for the Christmas events were at an “advanced stage” and could be picked up by another group.