BICESTER’S former town clerk has been given a £30,000 golden handshake – using taxpayer’s money.

Anne Wilson left the council earlier this year and councillors would only say she had gone “to pursue other challenges”.

Last week details of a cheque that had been paid to Mrs Wilson appeared on the town council’s finance agenda But when we contacted the council to find out more about the payment, together with three other figures, it was told the matter was confidential.

The move has prompted calls for the town council, based in Garth House, Launton Road, to be more transparent.

Mrs Wilson’s pay-off is the equivalent of every person in Bicester handing over £1 – or three per cent of the annual town precept.

In the same agenda there were two other payments – to Richard Spencer. One was for £28,764.95 and another for £28,939.75.

There was also a payment to South East Employers for an “HR investigation” for £1,589.07.

We contacted the chairman of the finance committee, Dan Sames, to ask for more information about the four payments.

Mr Sames said: “The council does not comment on individual payments.”

The Bicester Advertiser then contacted every single town councillor to ask why the former town clerk was given such a huge pay-off.

Town council leader Debbie Pickford said: “No comment. It’s confidential and we have got to keep it confidential.”

None of the other town councillors returned our telephone calls.

Mrs Wilson, of Southwold, Bicester, who is now the town clerk at Buckingham Town Council, referred us to Debbie Pickford. Mrs Wilson was town clerk in Bicester for nine years.

Calls have since been made for the town council to be transparent in its finances.

The Bicester member for CPRE, John Broad, said: “It’s absolutely ridiculous.

“In a simple kind of way we are supporting the town council with rates, so any payment made should be completely transparent.

“If money is going out for items that are quite legitimate and you have been questioned and you answer no comment, my immediate reaction is suspicion.”

Donald Robinson, of Bicester Friends of the Earth and former warden at Stoke Wood, said: “It’s absolute nonsense. It’s our money. If they have made an ex-gratia payment we should know about it.

“When the last town clerk left or retired, they made it quite public what they paid her. It’s unbelievable, it’s like going back to the 1960s.”

Yesterday, we submitted a Freedom of Information request to the council in a bid to find out more information about the four payments.

This year Bicester Town Council plans to spend £1,346,110. It will raise £999,935 of that from council tax precepts.