town council parish poll votes to abolish council

Town council 'should be scrapped' - poll
23 June 2006 | 08:42

A REFERENDUM on the future of Bury St Edmunds Town Council revealed
last night that most people believe it should be abolished.

But the turnout for yesterday's poll - held at a cost of £8,000 - was
a meagre 1.27%, with only 358 people bothering to vote out of an
eligible 28,143.

However, campaigners still branded the vote a success saying the low
turnout demonstrated the lack of interest people felt towards the town
council.

In response to the question "Are you in favour of the town
council?"101 people voted "yes" and 257 voted "no".

Mike Brundle, former leader of St Edmundsbury Borough Council and
staunch opponent of the third-tier authority, claimed the authority -
formed in 2003 - had been a "waste of money".

He said: "It seems it has been a resounding victory for those wanting
to get rid of the council. There was a low turnout but I believe that
just demonstrates the lack of interest there is in the authority.

"We have had a democratic vote and now as a result the town council
should dissolve itself. That is what we will now be campaigning for.

"There is no doubt in my mind the town council should wind itself up
because the people of Bury St Edmunds have spoken."

Meanwhile, 165 people voted "yes" and 164 voted "no" to the
question "Are you aware of how much is already achieved by the town
council?".

A total of 129 voters also said they were aware that local government
restructuring could lead to the abolition of district and borough
councils in favour of parish councils, while 181 said they were not.

Town mayor Rebecca Hopfensberger was unavailable for comment last
night, but earlier town councillor and former town mayor Mike Ames
questioned the validity of the poll. He also hinted that it would not
lead to the council's demise, regardless of the outcome.

"We plan to continue our work because the poll is not binding - we
are here by statute," Mr Ames said.

"The people who are trying to get rid of us had their opportunity
several years ago and they lost. What they don't understand is we are
town authority and the borough council is a district authority."

But David Nettleton, independent borough and town councillor, said:
"My view is that if the vote is against the council it will be the
beginning of the process which will see its removal."

Source:
http://www.eadt.co.uk/content/eadt/news/story.aspx?brand=EADOnline&category=News&tBrand=EADOnline&tCategory=znews&itemid=IPED22%20Jun%202006%2023%3A43%3A01%3A007

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