Parish council boundary decision postponed

Final decisions on changes to town and parish council boundaries across Telford and Wrekin have been put off until after the summer holidays.

The changes could mean increases in council taxes in some areas but a leading councillor has said that if people who “moan” about increases “pay a bit more, you actually get a bit more”.

Councillors are considering town and parish council boundary changes and have agreed to hold a meeting in September, then possibly another in October if they want more time to carry out further ‘mini consultations’.

A meeting of the boundary review committee on Wednesday (July 30) heard that there has been general agreement about the creation of new parish councils for Muxton and Priorslee.

But there are more controversial changes on the cards including in Madeley, Little Wenlock, Wrockwardine, and Dawley Hamlets Parish Council.

The chairman of Dawley Hamlets has previously claimed that merging the tiny area with another would mean big increases in council tax for residents.

“I have been contacted by many residents in rural areas who feel their communities are under attack and concerned that their community identities will be lost,” said Councillor Nigel Dugmore (Conservative, Muxton) at a meeting this week.

He welcomed having more time to consider proposals after getting seven days to read through 1,000 consultation responses in the boundary review committee papers.

Councillor Dugmore said plans to merge Little Wenlock and Wrockwardine into one massive parish had the problem of “a hill called The Wrekin between them”.

He added that a list of issues “goes on and on”.

But council deputy leader Councillor Richard Overton (Labour, St Georges) said: “It’s not an attack, because no-one’s actually doing anything yet to anybody. It was actually a consultation on the proposals,” he said.

He accused Councillor Dugmore of “always being negative” and pointed to responses which had been positive towards changes.

Councillor Overton said proposed changes in Wellington, Muxton, and Priorslee had been greeted positively.

On the issue of the possible merger of Little Wenlock and Wrockwardine, where councillors in the former have threatened to resign, he said: “If we are listening we would not look at doing.”

But the councillor was less sympathetic to calls to keep Dawley Hamlets as a separate parish council.

“I still do not feel there is such an area as Dawley Hamlets. There’s lots of arguments that say it should not be got rid of but personally I don’t think it’s in Dawley and I don’t think it’s a hamlet any more.”

Councillor Overton took a swipe at the smaller parish councils which he said employ staff but don’t provide many services.

“When you look at some of these smaller parish councils a large percentage of their precept is spent on staff and not really delivering for their community,” he said.

“So while people moan about paying council tax and precepts, sometimes when you pay a bit more you actually get a bit more.”

Councillor Giles Luter (Labour, Ercall), chairing the meeting, said: “There’s a lot to take in because thankfully we have had a lot of engagement.

“It was wise of us to have a bit of a break between this meeting and the one in September just to really make sure we give this our proper attention.”

He said there could be another meeting in October if they still want to carry out further consultation “for a transparent and in-depth process”.

Any changes agreed at that meeting will come into effect at the next local elections in May 2027.