Hopes of parish council in village quashed

Residents and councillors from Tettenhall had sought to gain some independence with its own authority to make local decisions and have more powers for the area.

But Wolverhampton council has said the area does not need its own council.

During a Special Advisory Group, a decision was made to recommend to the council that a parish council for the wards of Tettenhall Regis and Tettenhall Wightwick should not be implemented.

It comes after a consultation with residents which found that 54 per cent of the 131 responses to a survey were 'not in favour at all' of the proposal – with 12.5 per cent of the respondents strongly in favour.

Cyril Randles, who put forward the motion for a parish council and chairman of the Tettenhall District Community Council, said: "I'm disappointed but not surprised because we've had the consultation and I've seen the results of the survey.

"During the financial position the country was in at the time the consultation was going on, what looked like an extra cost to people was very frightening.

"I think people would value a local way of intervening and putting their influence on what's happening in their local area.

"We never wanted a highly expensive parish council. What we will have to see now is what Wolverhampton will suggest for community governance because they have a legal obligation to provide that, which I think they've lost site of recently."

Tettenhall Wightwick councillor Wendy Thompson added: "The feeling of independence seems to be particularly strong in the areas of Wolverhampton that used to be separate urban district councils under Staffordshire – those are Wednesfield, Bilston and Tettenhall.

"There's a historic view that we used to look after our own affairs and a lot of people still remember that. They think we were fine then and don't necessarily want to be part of this huge congregation. We want that feeling of locality which is closer to us."

A total of 57 per cent were not willing to pay more council tax for a parish council and a quarter believed another level of bureaucracy was a major drawback in the proposal.

Meanwhile, residents felt that implementing a parish council would lead to improvements in the area due to having more say in local services, an opportunity to participate and promoting Tettenhall's identity as a village.

Following the consultation survey, almost 140 people were in attendance across two public meetings in March.

People highlighted concerns over a lack of information about what the parish council would do.

It was made clear in the meeting that a referendum or parish poll would not take place to determine the decision.

Councillor Roger Lawrence, said: "I want to make it clear I am not opposed parish councils in principal. They have a role to play even in more urban areas.

"But I think we need to recognise that they also bring other issues like costs and other challenges."

The recommendation comes as part of a 'community governance review in 2017 – which focusing on the two Tettenhall wards and a wide review of Wolverhampton as a whole.

During consultation, a separate Ipsos MORI phone telephone fieldwork in the Tettenhall area found that half of residents supported the parish council proposal – but almost half (46 per cent) were not willing to pay for an increase in tax.

It found that over half (53 per cent) want a 'hybrid parish council'.

Earlier this year, a petition backed by more than 200 people called on the council to reject the proposals due to a sharp rise in council tax.

The petition was launched by David McGlynn, who said residents were unwilling to pay an additional council tax precept for the limited powers afforded by parish council status.