Telford parish councils ‘reminded of obligations’ after reports of spreading ‘potentially misleading info’ in boundary review

Emotions have been running high in Telford & Wrekin Council’s local government circles over the borough council’s review of the boundaries of the area’s 27 towns and parishes.

A top council official who reports directly to chief executive David Sidaway told the boundary review committee that being a ‘devil’s advocate’ some people feel that the borough council has itself not been ‘fair and balanced’.

Anthea Lowe, the council’s director of policy and governance, is also the council’s statutory monitoring officer.

Responding to a question from Councillor Nathan England, she said: “It’s a really difficult one because some town and parish councils feel very strongly about the proposals.

“There’s nothing to stop them from engaging with residents to set out their views.”

She added: “Where we have been made aware that what we think is potentially misleading information has been shared widely, I have reached out to the chair of the relevant council and asked them to consider whether or not it has been accurate and drawn attention to the obligation that they need to follow.”

The council official added that “if you are being devil’s advocate people might feel that the information that the borough has published has not been fair and balanced because of the responses that have come forward”.

She added that the borough has put information in a consultation pack, held events, and given information to those who asked for it.

Councillor England (Labour, The Nedge) stirred up something of a hornet’s nest among those watching from the public gallery at Wednesday’s (July 30) meeting when he raised a series of issues.

Councillor England raised a “general concern regarding the consultation process”.

He asked about some town and parish councils that have “actively campaigned against the proposals”.

And he wondered whether this “may have changed residents’ perception and affected consultation outcomes”.

He added that he wanted to ensure the boundary review committee “has full confidence of fairness and legitimacy” and asked if officers could “clarify what measures have been taken to guarantee that all residents received balanced and accurate information”.

Councillor England followed up by asking: “Are officers confident that responses from parish councils of those that have encouraged responses have been motivated by community interest rather than job preservation or organisational self-preservation?”

He was told that it is “difficult to understand people’s intent when they make comments” but “they make their views known for whatever reasons they might want”.

Councillor England also asked if the borough could step in if newly formed town and parish councils failed.

He was told that Telford & Wrekin Council has no jurisdiction beyond holding the boundary review.

Once formed a parish council is “responsible for itself” the committee was told.

Councillor England was also told that in certain circumstances the borough could hold a review of a “particular area”, ask for an outside review, or appoint people if a parish council did not have enough councillors to make decisions.

After the meeting Councillor Steve Bentley (Conservative, Ercall Magna) said: “The parish councils have been doing the kind of engagement with the public that the borough should have been doing.”

Councillor Bentley is the postmaster in Waters Upton and said he has been approached by members of the public asking why the review was taking place.

“If the parish councils had not been engaging with the public then we wouldn’t have had 1,000 responses.”

He added: “I was a bit disappointed in Councillor England’s comments and I don’t think I was the only one.

“Some of the questions demonstrated a lack of understanding.

“The parish councils are doing what they need to. They have been asked to get public engagement and that is what they are doing.”

A representative of the Shropshire Association of Local Councils (SALC) said the organisation, which had raised the prospect of a judicial review, is waiting until the final outcome of the review.

Councillors are expected to make final decisions on which parishes will be merged, enlarged, or created, at a meeting on September 4.