Parishing is a way of raising Council Tax by £120 per household over three years.
New parishes would be made responsible for delivering Streetsmart services such as grounds maintenance, street cleaning and pothole filling. The Council is actively considering transferring other services in future such as street lighting, community transport and libraries.
Residents would have to pay for these services by means of a “Parish Precept”, which is another layer of Council Tax on top of what you already pay to Swindon Council.
Parishing is a way of raising Council Tax by £120 per household over three years.
New parishes would be made responsible for delivering Streetsmart services such as grounds maintenance, street cleaning and pothole filling. The Council is actively considering transferring other services in future such as street lighting, community transport and libraries.
Residents would have to pay for these services by means of a “Parish Precept”, which is another layer of Council Tax on top of what you already pay to Swindon Council.
Stage one of the community governance review has now been completed. Councillor Nadine Watts and Jane Milner-Barry have attended two public meetings and canvassed across the Old Town ward. We have not found anyone in favour of the imposition of an Old Town Parish Council or becoming part of another Parish.
Residents had many questions regarding boundaries, parish council running costs (Parish Clerk’s salary, office expenses, insurance etc) and the level of services, as well as paying twice for services with no rebate.
We share people's concerns regarding the loss of the economies of scale associated with providing services to the borough as a whole, and also that no options other than parishing are currently being considered. There seems to be general public support for a referendum.
Nadine Watts and Jane both believe only a referendum will satisfy the need for a democratic review.