Combined March 26 jw v2 - Flipbook - Page 5
Opinion Hayling Herald
Last chance to vote on parish council
By Councillor Wilf Forrow
WHETHER you love councils or loathe them,
having them near you is better than further
away. As the old saying goes, ‘keep your friends
close, but your enemies closer.’
Havant Borough Council will disappear in two
years’ time under Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). Instead of our local council being
just over the bridge, our nearest will be somewhere in greater Portsmouth, Gosport or Fareham. And instead of Hayling having one in six
councillors, we’ll fall to one in 30, meaning we’ll
be forgotten.
Hayling Islanders already know what it’s like
to be the forgotten corner of Hampshire. Hampshire County Council barely knows where Hayling is, let alone fixing our potholes.
This is our last chance for five years to get Hayling’s own parish council (or Town Council – it’s
the same). But it appears that Havant Borough
Council really doesn’t want us to have one, so
we’re going to have to fight tooth and nail for it.
The official consultation closes on Monday,
March 23rd. If you haven’t voted for a parish
council yet, vote now at Havant.gov.uk/cgr. The
last council consultation only got a one per cent
response, which would allow Havant to kick us
into the long grass and the opportunity would
be lost. If you’re not sure if you’ve already voted,
or if you have something else to say, please vote
again – they’ll only count you once.
A parish council won’t solve all our problems,
it can’t run the big stuff – roads, education, social
care, sea defences, etc. But it can run very local
services, like allotments, open spaces, community centres. And almost always better and more
efficiently than a bigger, more remote council.
And because it would be run by Islanders, for
islanders, it will be totally Island-focused. Parish
councils usually have very few staff, and they’re
much better at harnessing volunteers and local expertise – and they are excellent value for
money.
Parish councils have a big say in wider planning matters, and would be able to guide and
amplify the voices of our remaining two or three
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new unitary councillors. Parish councillors will
help link them back into the community they
serve.
Knowing how hard your borough councillors
already work to fight for Hayling (just watch
them in Overview and Scrutiny Committee
meetings!), the new unitary councillors will need
all the help they can get.
And there are some things that only a parish
council can do. The bus to the ferry is a great
example! We’d have one now, with a Community
Bus Grant from Hampshire County Council but
we don’t, because borough councils can’t bid for
those grants – they’re only open to parish councils.
The second public drop-in event will be on
Thursday, March 12th, 3pm to 7pm at St Andrews Church. There is much more information
on the HIRA website, at haylingresidentsassociation.co.uk
All Islanders have a vote on whether to have a
Hayling Parish Council - use it by March 23rd or
lose it. Go to havant.gov.uk/cgr
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