Dawley-gate: Borough replaces ‘abolish’ with ‘subsumed’ in proposals that wipe out Dawley Hamlets Parish Council
Parish councillors in Telford are concerned that the removal of a key word from a public consultation document means residents won’t know that their council’s name is set to be wiped off the map.
One consultation document issued by Telford & Wrekin Council included the phrase ‘Dawley Hamlets Parish Council is abolished’ but a later edition removed the key word.
A meeting heard concerns that if the public does not know about the proposed abolition they will think that everything is OK. Whatever happens though, residents will still be represented by a town or parish council.
Eagle-eyed Dawley Hamlets Parish Council chairman Bob Wennington (Aqueduct ward) spotted the change and raised it at their annual meeting on Wednesday (May 21).
Councillor Wennington told the meeting that he has been trying to get to the bottom of why the change has been made.
“Reading through the second round of consultation document, I can find no reference to the proposal to abolish Dawley Hamlets Parish Council,” Councillor Wennington has also told borough officials.
“Is the implication of this that neither Dawley Hamlets Parish Council or its residents can object to the abolishment of DHPC.”
A council official has told the councillor that “for the avoidance of doubt” they will add a line into text that states “these draft proposals, if adopted, would see the parish of Dawley Hamlet subsumed into other proposed parish areas as clearly demonstrated by the maps.”
It is understood by the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the word ‘subsumed’ is being used to make it clear that the area that currently forms Dawley Hamlets will continue to be represented by a town or parish council.
Officials also haven’t endeared themselves to parish councillors by referring to the parish as Dawley Hamlet, instead of the plural version that makes up the correct title of the council.
At a recent gathering councillors agreed to hold two public meetings and launch a publicity drive to try to rally members of the public to their cause.
Councillor Bob Wennington admitted: “If we do not get the support of residents we are flogging a dead horse.”
The Community Governance Review consultation closes on Monday July 14 and the outcome of any changes will then come into effect at the next local election in May 2027. The council says it will listen to feedback
Under proposals being considered by a boundary review, some parts of Dawley Hamlets could be going to Great Dawley, while other wards end up as part of enlarged councils for The Gorge or Lawley & Overdale.
