IN RECENT years, we’ve seen our elected EU representatives taken away from us, then our local West Dorset District Council.

Now Bridport Town Council wants to take away our local Parish Councillors. We’re supposed to be taking back control, but instead decisions are being made for each of us in which we’ve less and less official voice.

I value our Bradpole Parish Council and don’t want to lose it. My near neighbour was a Parish Councillor for many years.

We differed in our political views, but I know he cared about our local neighbourhood and had a lifetime of local knowledge to bring to the role.

Much as I admire and like members of Bridport Town Council, I don’t believe their knowledge and commitment to Bradpole could ever be the same. The new unitary Dorset Council was supposed to be more efficient and save costs.

Instead, we’ve lost a more localised layer of decision-making and far from saving costs those of us in parish councils are now in danger of seeing our council taxes go up.

Because of the vacuum left by the abolition of our district councils, Bridport Town Council seems to want to inherit part of their role. Making the town stronger by weakening the parishes isn’t the answer here and I hope that those of us in civil parishes will tell Dorset Council that before the deadline on the 28th October.

Bradpole Parish currently includes Bradpole village, the King Charles’ estate and parts of Pymore and Coneygar.

Bridport Town Council would especially like to bring the King Charles estate and Coneygar into their own control, but this kind of argument cuts two ways.

A brief glance at the a map of the current Bradpole Parish boundary shows an anomalous piece removed around the northern end of St Andrew’s Road.

Perhaps its inhabitants might prefer to see themselves as part of the parish rather than the town. If any of these boundary proposals are important to you, then you may need to act quickly.

NEIL RAMSDEN

Bradpole

 

Have Your Say online at: bridportnews.co.uk or email: postbag@bridport news.co.uk