I back new town council for High Wycombe

8:14pm Thursday 1st May 2008

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THE campaign to create a town council for the town of High Wycombe deserves to be supported and not just by its residents, but also by residents of the other areas, both urban and rural, represented on Wycombe District Council.

At present, district councillors representing High Wycombe town wards are sometimes tempted to treat Wycombe District Council meetings as if they were concerned solely with High Wycombe town matters. If they had their own town council, that excuse would be removed.

There seems to be a fear that the creation of a High Wycombe Town Council would increase costs, and hence the level of council tax, both for those living inside and those living outside the High Wycombe town area, but this would not necessarily be so.

The new town council would have the power to raise revenue through its own precept (collected as part of the council tax) enabling it to take on additional responsibilities if it so wished, but that would only be at the choice of the residents.

Another option would be for the district council to delegate functions and budgets to the town council, leaving council tax unaffected.

None of this should lead to any need for other town and parish councils in the district to increase their own precepts.

Perhaps it would be a good idea to abolish the district council, and establish a unitary Bucks County Council, giving revitalised town and parish councils even greater responsibilities to deal better with really local concerns?

Unsurprisingly, since turkeys can't be expected to vote for Christmas, district councillors in Wycombe and elsewhere in the county recently jibbed at this sensible suggestion.

Derek Edwin Done, Harwood Road, Marlow