A DRIVE to direct local council tax money to be spent on local services has led to a town councillor proposing the village of Westbury Leigh should become a parish in its own right, with its own parish council.

Westbury town councillor Ian Taylor’s proposition would see Westbury Leigh unshackled from the town council’s governance. The village’s 201 householders pay £16,000, set to rise by £2,000 next year, as part of their council tax, to the town council and none of that money, according to Coun Taylor, is being spent in Westbury Leigh.

“We have a lot to gain from this. Residents are getting in touch with me saying ‘you have our backing’. We contribute less than four per cent to Westbury’s revenue and we just don’t get the benefits from it,” he said.

“Residents here pay £16,000 but we don’t get anything from it. This is a chance at local democracy. The cost of having a part-time parish clerk would be £5,000, meaning we would have £11,000 left over. There are 250 town and parish councils in Wiltshire and 150 of them have a lower precept than £16,000 a year – that is quite a lot for a little community.”

The year-long process has been ongoing, fast-tracked by the village asking both authorities for a new community bench, a new bus shelter, not a second hand one, and maintaining the car park in the village – all of which were rejected.

“I paid for quotes from chartered surveyors and got completely different answers. They said £20,000, £60,000 – nobody knows how much it will cost,” said Mr Taylor, a former chairman of the Laverton Institute Trust in Westbury.

“We want people’s interests dealt with, we are the right people to run this and are well established. We are now in a very healthy position and that is why we can take on the costs of the car park.

“If the Westbury Leigh Community Project, who are running it on a first-come, free-to-use basis, cannot afford to run the car park, which could happen, then Wiltshire Council will sell the land at a commercial price.

“With an annual income of £18,000, we could pay for this, provide grants, improve its street scene and provide other amenities desired by its residents.”

Despite being well received, the proposal, ratified by the Local Government and Rating Act 1997, has its doubters with some people have questioning if they can find enough volunteers, the funds and the economies of scale to pursue the venture.

“You need five people for a parish council and I’m quietly confident we will have seven. We can do this neatly and cost effectively,” said Councillor Taylor.

“The money will come from the precept. If you have a parish in Westbury Leigh that amount you pay to town councils will come to us, that is where they get the money from.”

The scheme will be discussed on Monday, February 1 at the Westbury Town Council committee meeting and by the Westbury Leigh community project hall meeting on Wednesday, February 10.