THE NEWS of a Hampshire county cabinet member stepping down from his role was revealed by leader of the council in Winchester today.

Leader of Hampshire County Council (HCC) Roy Perry relayed to members Councillor Andrew Gibson would be taking a step back from his culture, recreation and countryside portfolio due to health reasons.

Cllr Gibson confirmed to the Advertiser on Wednesday he would be resigning from his cabinet role, which comes after controversy over a planning application for his Chilbolton home and calls for him to stand down from residents.

Residents said they had “lost trust” in their cllr Andrew Gibson, following a declaration to Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) in the application where he admits breaching agricultural conditions on Test Valley Farm, Chilbolton, for 10 years.

At HCC’s Annual General Meeting Cllr Roy Perry said: “I’m making certain changes to the county cabinet.

“My good colleague Andrew Gibson as we know has severe asthma and has been advised to take things more easily to get that sorted. Therefore in the changes I’m proposing Sean Woodward is rejoining the cabinet taking a revised culture, recreation and countryside portfolio.

“I would like to pay tribute to Andrew Gibson for the work he has done in that no libraries have been closed in Hampshire and county parks like Queen Victoria and Lepe have been totally revamped.”

Cllr Gibson will continue as a councillor.