Councillor welcomes proposed parish boundary changes

Proposed changes to electoral arrangements in two north Northumberland parishes have been welcomed.
Guy Renner-Thompson.Guy Renner-Thompson.
Guy Renner-Thompson.

Belford Parish Council chairman Guy Renner-Thompson, who is also the local county councillor, has supported the review which proposes to abolish Easington Parish Council and transfer its area into Belford parish.

There has been no parish council in Easington for some years and recent efforts to generate interest have proved unsuccessful.

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He said: "Belford Parish Council is already the default consultee on planning and rights of way applications within Easington parish.

Easington parish.Easington parish.
Easington parish.

“However at present the people of Easington have no representation on the council, which is something of a democratic deficit.

“As county councillor, I often get asked for help on issues from residents within Easington parish which would normally be dealt with at the parish level.

“Some assets are solely the responsibility of the parish council. If a parish council doesn't exist then those assets are impossible. I've been asked before for a bus shelter at Waren Mill, but there can’t be because there is no public body willing to pay for maintenance.

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“It's possible for Easington to set up it's own parish council. However the precept would be so small they wouldn't be able to achieve much. By merging with Belford residents of Easington would benefit from a pot of money worth £10,500 per year."

Belford has also requested that three of its wards - Belford, Middleton and Warenton - are abolished and the number of parish councillors reduced from 12 to nine.

Views should be submitted to [email protected] by November 21.

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