Marlow will remain one of the top places to live in the country after accepting the power to take charge of its popular green spaces next month according to the town council.

Despite expecting initial teething problems Marlow Town Council remains confident that the move – commencing from April 1 - is vital in making sure the town’s standards remain high.

This comes after the town took on the responsibility of maintenance of roadside verges from Bucks County Council, and open spaces from Wycombe District Council following slashes to local authority budgets.

This means the town council will get funding over the next three years from BCC and WDC to over oversee the work.

In 2014 in initial devolution deal from BCC was rejected by MTC due to concerns surrounding funding once the four year grace period was up.

However after hearing positive feedback from other parishes who had taken on the deal, MTC were driven to accept the proposal in the belief that the overall look of the town would suffer if it was left in the hands of the cash strapped WDC and BCC.

Town council clerk, Annie Jones, said: “We know that we are taking on so much so there will be ups and downs which we have planned for

“It is scary but we are really pleased we are doing it. It’s all to do with devolution and localism and putting our money where our mouth is and we want to stand up and be counted for the way that Marlow is maintained.”

This month Marlow was crowned one of the top places to live in the south East, according to The Sunday Times, and MTC is adamant this ambitious move will mean the town can retain its high quality.

Mrs Jones continued: “I hope you will notice no difference. I hope it will be a seamless switch. Last year we won the best village in bucks and the times has reported us one of the best places to live and we want to keep it that way.

“If we hadn’t taken these services on you would have seen a difference.”

Once the services have been handed over to the town council the next aim will be to help other Marlow parks achieve Green Flag status after Higginson Park received the award last summer.

The deal will see MTC receive £58,000 from WDC and BCC. however it has admitted it is unsure where the money will come from once the three years is up.

Councillors have also called for the help of Marlovians in making sure the transition is smooth as possible, asking that any unkempt spots be reported straight away.