‘I’m against and my wife is too’ – Residents share views on contentious council merger proposal

Villagers have told Telford & Wrekin Council they don’t want residents from other areas making decisions on their behalf.

The borough council is carrying out a review of the boundaries of towns and parishes across the area in time for the all-out elections due in 2027.

One of the possible changes is to merge Edgmond Parish Council with its smaller neighbour at Chetwynd and respondents have said that they don’t like the idea one bit.

“I vehemently object to the merging of Chetwynd and Edgmond parish councils,” one Edgmond person said in a submission to the borough.

“We do not want or require, people from outside the village having a say in our future plans. There is no evidence of need to merge with Chetwynd and this decision represents zero benefit for our village.”

Another objector said they don’t want to lose the identity of Chetwynd.

They wrote: “As a resident of Edgmond for 18 years but now a resident of Chetwynd for 33 years I don’t want decisions being made by people that do not live in the parish. I don’t want to pay for a larger parish and loss [of] identity.”

Another objector with a similar point wrote: “It would be wrong for someone from Chetwynd to be able to join our parish council and influence decisions about Edgmond without actually living in the village. Please keep our Edgmond parish separate.”

The proposal was described as “nonsensical” by another objector.

“Edgmond could end up with councillors not elected by residents in Edgmond who could make decisions with no knowledge of Edgmond village life, they wrote.

“Please do not go ahead with this nonsensical suggestion.”

A Chetwynd resident said: “In my opinion a merger would detriment the Chetwynd populace because the focus would remain on Edgmond with its population density.”

Another respondent added: “If the proposal goes ahead it risks diluting our community and will forever alter the way in which Edgmond is governed.”

The borough council has redacted the names of respondents from the feedback it has published plus any swear words and “references that could be considered defamatory or insulting”.

A borough council committee meeting next week (Wednesday, July 30) is being given the option of deferring a final decision on the new boundaries until after the summer holidays.

Some respondents are worried that their council taxes would rise.

“Our hamlets and groups of houses are scattered in the parish but we need to realise their needs are as important as a large university village like Edgmond,” wrote one Chetwynd champion.

“The apparent wish to upload the costs of the larger town facilities onto adjoining parishes with a small population when we already pay our rates to support those facilities is not really a reasonable move.”

Proposals include cutting the number of councillors in some areas because some councils have problems finding enough people to contest elections.

A respondent wrote: “I contend that residents interested in becoming parish councillors would have done so already. Combining parish councils will hardly
encourage more residents to come forward.”

Another said creating a larger parish would not help “community identity”.

“Combining Edgmond with Chetwynd will create one enormous parish which, it seems to me, will be extremely large and unwieldy,” they wrote.

“Creating an even larger parish will hardly lead to maintaining and/or creating community identity.”

They added that having a new council with eight councillors from Edgmond and four from Chetwynd “does not lend itself to developing equitable and fair
distribution of attention and policies”.

Another objector was worried about how assets would be used.

Another said: “What worries me is that assets which Edgmond Parish Council have worked hard to raise money for from Edgmond residents e.g. the children’s play area may not be supported by new councillors living a long way from these assets and not using them.”

At least one household in Chetwynd had at least two people against the plans.

“Chetwynd should remain on their own and look after our local people and facilities,” they wrote.

“I strongly object to the merger and my wife does too.”

One issue that the objectors agreed with was to bring the four houses in Summerhill into Edgmond.

One wrote: “There are four houses in Summerhill; two houses currently in Edgmond and two in Chetwynd.”

Support for wider proposals is very much in the minority.

One supporter said they thought that parishes offer no services to residents.

They wrote: “I feel the total parishes offer no services to residents, [it is] just a job for their friends and should be merged as shown in draft recommendations.

“Bigger parishes with wider representation will offer better services for its residents.

“My parish hasn’t even signed the armed forces covenant, what a waste of time they are.”