Boundary Review Draft Recommendations

18 February 2004

The Parish Council have given consideration to the proposals regarding the above and have commented as follows:

The Parish Council has not formed a collective opinion on the proposals and are still of an open mind.
The documents presented do not give a clear indication of what it is hoped to achieve by the reorganisation. If little is achieved it is questioned whether the upheaval represents value for money.
Relationships established between Parish, Borough and County Councils would be destroyed and the bond of trust would need to be rebuilt.
Given a choice the preference would be for Option 2, a smaller authority. To some extent the County Council is now considered to be remote, to opt for a larger authority would make the Authority even more detached from the views of the residents’ and in particular from rural communities.
Concern is also expressed that despite assurances otherwise some of the smaller parish councils may have to amalgamate with the larger ones to cope with the expected delegation of responsibilities. This is felt to be unacceptable and it is important to state that all parish councils no matter of size will remain in place and a choice should be given as to which services they wish to be delegated on an individual basis.
There would possibly be advantages in terms of applying for European Funding etc. as has clearly happened with the already established Regional Authorities in Scotland and Wales.

You can find out more about the Boundary Committee proposals by visiting the web site at www.boundarycommittee.org.uk