THE cost to Malvern Town Council of granting its clerk early retirement is likely to be more than £125,000.

The money will be paid into the Worcestershire County Council superannuation fund over the next five years, but councillors were told on Tuesday that the net cost would be £14,544 a year (£72,720 over five years).

This figure was based on the assumption that £11,000 a year would be saved on the new chief executive's salary, which will be lower than that of the current clerk and treasurer, Stuart McDonough.

The estimated saving is based on the new chief executive being paid in the medium range of an agreed salary scale of £33,720 to £37,402.

After Mr McDonough's retirement at the end of June, he will be retained as a consultant until October or November, when it is expected to have a new recruit in post.

During Tuesday's lively meeting, Coun Roger Hall-Jones asked for a discussion of the early retirement package for the benefit of new members Adrian Ward, Alistair Macmillan and Keith Phillips, of Malvern Town Action Group, but this was overruled.

After the meeting, mayor Whinray Coates told the Gazette: "The clerk feels he can't carry on his job any longer. He's leaving because he has been hounded by MTAG and Coun Ward.

"He's taking his prerogative of early retirement and what we are paying is what he is due. It's the normal option for a retiring officer of his stature. We agreed this because his position became untenable.

"The benefit to the business is that he's going and he thinks that will help the council.

"It's quite a legitimate reason for taking early retirement."

Mr McDonough said: "I have taken legal advice and, as a result of that, I thought the council's best interests and mine were to allow me to retire."

Referring to the new members of the council, who previously demanded his resignation as members of MTAG, Mr McDonough said: "I'm not prepared to work with these people."

Coun Hall-Jones has written to the District Auditor expressing his concerns over the granting of early retirement.

He said he did not believe it could be justified on grounds of either efficiency savings or ill health.