Mobile: 0794 120 1995
Staverton PC 'doesn't have a mandate' and won't assist.
In case you were wondering, the costs incurred by HAAG (Hilperton Area Action Group) are funded solely by Hilperton Parish Council.
The Staverton parish clerk has advised me that 'It was unanimously decided after full and frank discussions, that residents had not given the (Staverton) Parish Council a mandate to provide funding for a consultancy fee.'
Since the Local Plan public consultation was undertaken a few years ago, Staverton parish council has had two or three opportunities to raise funds by increasing its precept to assist with costs. It has chosen not to do so and now, rather than 'leading from the front', it is stating it has no mandate to do anything.
How often does a parish council actually 'have a mandate' to do anything? Not often, in my experience. Villagers vote for their parish council members and then expect those people to do what is right for the parish.
In years to come, when Staverton residents see houses on the fields running between the canal bridge and the river, they will know who to 'thank'....
Please note that this opinion is my personal one as the Wiltshire Councillor for Hilperton Division.