Boundary review 'a waste of cash'

An investigation into the possible splitting of a Telford parish council has been branded a politically-motivated waste of money.

The claim was made by Councillor Shaun Davies, a member of Great Dawley Parish Council, whose boundary is the subject of a governance review.

The borough council was obliged to carry out the review after Telford and Wrekin People's Association (Tawpa) councillors gathered a petition signed by 567 people who wanted to see the two wards in the parish, Dawley and Malinslee, split and each made independent.

Councillor Davies, a Labour member of the parish council, has demanded to know how much the review being carried out by Telford & Wrekin Council is costing.

He said: "At a time of global economic difficulties, I would rather taxpayers' money is spent on helping hard-hit families and businesses, instead of it being spent on a review which is completely politically motivated."

He claimed Tawpa would hold an overall majority in a separate Dawley parish council but, as it stood, Labour were the biggest party on Great Dawley.

Councillor Vic Tonks, of Tawpa, said the petition was launched at the request of residents, who felt they were being neglected, and both Dawley and Malinslee were growing and so could support their own parish councils.

The plans to split the existing parish into two is to be considered by the borough council's licensing committee on April 21.