Parish council elections to take place on May 4

By Ben Fitzgerald - 29 March 2017

PoliticsCommunity

Swindon heads to the polls on 4 May as the first of the new parish council elections take place.

Information about what is required to become a parish councillor is available on the ‘How to become a councillor’ webpage. All nominations must be received by 4pm on Tuesday 4 April.

In each of the new parishes, a shadow parish council has been formed to decide on services that will be transferred from the council. This is made up largely of Swindon Borough Council ward councillors from each area.

The decision to parish previously unparished areas of the Borough followed a year-long Community Governance Review process which involved extensive engagement and formal consultation with residents and parish councils.

However, the new parish system has not been introduced without objection. A very vocal element in the public gallery during the council meeting that saw the plans voted through to set up the new parishes, as well as calls from the Labour group calling the whole process a “debacle” have been key flash points in the implementation of this new layer of governance.

The Blunsdon St Andrew Parish is to be split under the new system, and parish chairman Ian Jankinson has told Swindon Link of his dismay over the changes.

Ian said: “This month Blunsdon St Andrew Parish Council will be forced to give up its role of supporting the community of St Andrew. After an 18 month struggle against an unnecessary Governance Review, St Andrew will split from Blunsdon after 125 years of cohesive community development. Despite our resistance to some personal acrimony and misinformation we have worked closely with the recently appointed shadow Parish to help enable a smooth transition for the community.

“Our residents will by now be aware of the parish precepts for both new parishes of £55 for St Andrew and £89 for Blunsdon (for equivalent Band D properties).

“The irony is that had we remained as one parish our precept would have been less than either of these. The Parish of Blunsdon St Andrew had budgeted for a precept of £47 for both areas and the extra costs associated with the split and the new parish have driven up the precept beyond this.

“In the ensuing parish council elections in May, those 7 or 8 parish councillors who live in Redhouse and St Andrew’s Ridge and have worked hard to support both Blunsdon and St Andrew over the years, will now stand for election in the new Parish of St Andrew. They feel that they still have work to do in supporting the community in which they live and have had years experience of working with residents to resolve local issues.”

The statutory minimum number of parish councillors for each area is five - there is no maximum number. The number of parish councillors in existing parishes in Swindon range from 5 to 23.

Anyone wishing to vote but unable to get to a polling station on 4 May can request a postal vote.

To apply, call 01793 464601 or email: [email protected]

Residents who still remain unsure  which parished area they live in can use an online postcode checker by heading to:

www.swindon.gov.uk/parishes

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