“Business as usual” is continuing at Ongar Town Council, the chairman has claimed, despite five councillors angrily resigning in recent months.

Making accusations of Ongar Residents Association (ORA) councillors bullying staff, “riding roughshod over experienced councillors” and being obsessed with Jubilee Park in Love Lane, Labour’s Peter Gode was the last resignation from the council earlier this month.

He followed fellow party member Diana Roberts and independents Andrew Kaye, Janice Rushton and Sheila Jackman, meaning there is now only one council member – Labour’s Alison Wingfield – who does not belong to the ORA.

Despite similar, serious criticisms from all the resigning councillors, chairman and ORA member councillor Jim Browning has denied any crisis at the council.

Following allegations of ORA councillors “bullying” staff with bad language and high workloads, Cllr Browning said: “The councillors are working amicably with the staff.

“Following the recent full council meeting (May 12) it was agreed to merge the committees from six to three.

“This has a direct benefit to both staff and councillors, as it helps to ease the work load and enables staff and councillors to focus on the needs of the residents of Ongar.”

A perceived ORA “obsession” with Jubilee Park was mentioned by all resigning councillors.

The council controversially took over management of the sports club more than a year ago, and it has since been a focus of its work.

Cllr Browning said: “Jubilee Park is an area the councillors identified as a financial drain on the council, and a working group was formed to reduce the financial drain on the rate payers of Ongar.”

Recently, park manager and ex-Olympian Angus McKenzie was made redundant by the council as part of a financial review which has also seen prices rise at the venue.

Cllr Browning said the changes were needed to make it “more streamlined and viable”.

He thanked the resigned councillors for their service and wished them well for the future

“The decision to resign was their individual choice… however the remaining councillors would have preferred if they had stayed to use their experience to help the residents of Ongar deal with the Local Plan and other issues.”

In his resignation letter addressed to Cllr Browning, Mr Gode said the ORA “showed complete and utter contempt for anyone that dared to disagree with them”.

He added: “This past year has probably been one of the hardest years for Ongar Town Council with the resignations of a number of experienced councillors all citing the same reasons, but - not wishing to go into a diatribe - I do share the same feelings and have a genuine fear for the welfare and health of the staff.”

There council currently has two vacancies for the Marden Ash ward, one for Shelley ward, one for Greensted ward and one for the Chipping Ongar ward.