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Village bid for council

24/ 4/2008

MORE than 500 residents have signed a petition in favour of establishing a parish council in Northenden.

Residents handed in the document at Manchester Town Hall, which, if approved by the Secretary of State, could see the formation of the Manchester’s first parish council.

Liberal Democrat candidate Martin Eakins has led the campaign over the past nine months. He said: "We’ve had an amazing response from local residents eager to sign up. Many are frustrated that our village has deteriorated and declined in recent years, and that it takes ages to get anything done round here. We need stronger local civic leadership and this council will help provide this.

"Many older residents hark back to an era of bustling village community where you could shop for anything from our high street in peace.

"That era is well and truly gone, and now our high street boasts 16 take-away outlets, not enough decent independent shops, and far too much dog fouling and littering. We’ve lost much of our local civic pride and we want to do something about it."

Parish councils have a wide range of powers and are the first point of call for issues like planning, tourism, licensing and providing community halls, before matters are passed to the city council.

However, the campaign was met with criticism last year after councillor Mike Kane said it would result in a bungling "Vicar of Dibley" style parish council.

Coun Kane said: "What I said last year still stands, it is a bad idea – residents’ council tax rates will go up by as much as £200 because they will have to pay a precept to the parish council. We’ve managed to do so many things for Northenden without a parish council, Riverside Park, CCTV, and twice as many residents signed in favour of the Farmer’s Market."

To qualify as a submission for parish council status, 10 percent of the electorate must sign a petition.

Manchester City Council is now required to forward the petition to the Secretary of State. It has a right to add its comments but cannot block the petition. The Secretary of State may accept or reject it, or refer it to the Local Government Commission for review on the same basis as a recommendation from a district, borough or unitary council.