Campaigners in part of Telford have begun a bid for independence by calling for a split with their neighbours and the right to have their own parish council, it was revealed.
About 600 people in Dawley have put their names to a petition calling for the current Great Dawley Parish Council boundary to be divided. They want separate parish councils for Dawley and Malinslee.
The campaign is spearheaded by Telford & Wrekin Council members Vic Tonks and Helen Williams.
Councillors Tonks and Williams, both members of the Telford & Wrekin People’s Association, argue the population of Great Dawley has increased substantially since the parish boundary was drawn up about 20 years ago and councillors are stretched serving residents over such a large area.
Councillor Tonks said: “By creating two new parish councils we would be able to fight for the specific needs of our community and there would be less confusion as to what side wants what.”
Councillor Williams said: “We have one boundary for borough, one for parish and yet another one for the police. It is no wonder people are confused when asking for help from one or all of them.
“To separate the parish council would go some way to making the boundaries less confusing for all.”
Telford & Wrekin Council chief executive Steve Wellings confirmed the authority could consider forming a new parish if a valid petition was received and he said the Dawley one was well above the legal threshold required.
He said: “The council will be validating these signatures, and, assuming these are correct, Telford & Wrekin Council would then conduct a community governance review on this issue.”
Mr Wellings said extensive consultation would be needed and changes would be unlikely to take effect before the next round of parish elections in 2011.
By Simon Hardy
10 Comments
This has already ained considerable support from the residents of Dawley.
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Would Parish Councils be missed if they disappeared?????
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Parish councils are pointless anyway.
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What a waste of time and taxpayers money! The only reason TAWPA wants this change is due to them being in the minority at Great Dawley Parish Council. They have not thought this through, if there are to be two Parish Councils they will need 2 offices (including equipment) and duplication of staff. The residents will suffer a reduction in facilities and the two smaller Councils will have less clout when dealing with the Borough of Telford & Wrekin Council. Apathy was the reason earlier this year that a proposal to rename the Parish Council to a Town Council did not go ahead. At that point with the borough regeneration program a town council would have carried more credibility in moving forward for the benefit of residents. TAWPA please grow up and do what is right for residents and not what will get them in the press!
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Michael. A disgruntled former employee about to go to tribunal. What you say carries no weight,especially on the ageism issue. You know what I mean don’t you.
Your comments are from a bitter person. Just how much are you going to cost the tax payer?
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Well said Michael - you sound like someone with some inside knowledge of parish councils ;•)
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a parish council does not need offices and the only staff needed is a part time clerk say 10 hours a week. none of the councillors are paid or receive any allowances. the parish council is the bottom of the council pile and i would rather see each parish have its own council, so that local issues only are discussed. at the top of the pile is the unitary authority that will sweep away the county and district councils . hands off parish councils please
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other than talk, a lot, what does a parish council do?
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Dear John, life is too short to be bitter and it is not in my nature to hold grudges. I uphold strong moral values and dislike injustice especially when an action is undertaken and it is not for the common good. My quest for justice will not impinge on the finances of Great Dawley and residents may rest easy in that my action will not affect the Parish Precept. However, the action of a minority of the councillors has cost the residents and this can be seen from the upsurge in spending since the retirement of the previous clerk. I won’t even mention the holdup in France of the Christmas lights delaying the start of the illuminations!
To Devon, I would agree small Parish Councils do not need offices and I have been clerk to two councils where the time was about 5 hours per week each. In these two councils none of the councillors received any remuneration. In Great Dawley the Parish Council voted for the payment of allowances to the councillors and only one councillor opted not to take it (that is a public record and has to be displayed on the public notice board for a set time each year). Yes, Parish Councils are on the bottom rung of the local government ladder, but like the foundations of a house the structure would start to crumble and be subject to all sorts of problems without the Parish Council. A good parish council will exercise pressure on other bodies when it is required. At parish level I fully agree that they should deal with local issues and that politics has no place there and can be totally counter-productive to getting what is needed, done.
To Rpt Barrington-Black, have a visit to a full parish council meeting, you will be surprised at the wide range of work that is done. Community life would deteriorate rapidly without your local councils … they do listen and in the main endeavour to rectify issues. Parish Councils need trained staff and through training comes additional powers through initiatives like Quality Council status and that has to be commended and encouraged.
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Michael
I’m interested to know who the minority of councillors are who have caused an upsurge in spending by GDPC since the previous clerk left its employ.Instead of a clerk, deputy clerk and a clerical assistant the council now only employs a council clerk. That appears to me to be a saving of many thousands of pounds. TAWPA always does its best on behalf of the residents and its councillors use their councillors allowances to pay for things for the good of Dawley residents through their published TAWPA councillors bank account. To accuse them of courting publicity is pretty rich coming from you.
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