Town Council for Pontefract?

In the 1970s at the point when the Yorkshire Ridings Councils were being wound up and in West Yorkshire the Metropolitan Districts came into being a number of ancient Borough Councils ceased to exist and were subsumed by the newly created Metropolitan District Council.

Smaller Townships remained but broadly on a Parish Council/Town Council basis. In the case of WMDC it continued to work from what had been the seat of regional government in Wakefield. The district was split up into 21 wards more or less equal in population and three councillors were elected for each ward. Pontefract as one of the larger historic towns because of its size and as a former Borough Council had six District Councillors and I became one of those in May 2006.

Over the last couple of years a local group of people have been striving to build up a head of steam to enable a review to see if the public wish to see the creation of a new Parish/Town council under the 2007 Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act, the potential outcome would be the creation of a new layer of administration with tax raising powers. This has now reached the point where a review is taking place to see if the Parish should be created which could then be called a Town Council.

So imagine my surprise to see a new item from Bill O'Brien, the secretary of the self styled Pontefract Forward group in the 13th August edition of the Pontefract & Castleford Express, especially so when I read what appears to be a complete about face on his part, let me first say that I agree completely with him that a Parish Council for a Town of the size and history of Pontefract is not appropriate and I welcome his desire for people to "object to it so that it does not happen" and that people should vote no when the voting slips arrive on your doormats over coming weeks.

On stepping aside as MP of Normanton so that Ed Balls could become an MP, he threw himself back into local politics and this big project of well over 18 months has raised peoples hopes, expectations and now because he triggered the public process outlined in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, has generated a bill of several thousand pounds for Council Tax payers to meet. If he had really understood where he was taking people he would have realized that the outcome if successful could only initially result in Parish status.

Yes, he can get the name changed to Pontefract Town Council, yes the Chairman could be called a Mayor, yes there can be ceremonial activities and Mayoral regalia but what is created is not really a Mayoralty and whilst some people have signed up for it there are many who do not want the extra burden he has proposed. To set up an additional layer of administration and with tax raising powers but with the narrower powers of a Parish Council even if it is then called a Town Council with 20 Councillors does not make sense and I am glad he finally admits that he was wrong.

If Bill really does want to see the 1970's status quo returning to a time before he was a elected a Wakefield Councillor and future MP, the better path for him would be to use his contacts in government, perhaps to persuade Ed Balls or our MP to sponsor an Act of Parliament or lobby government for a charter for a council with broader powers, closer to that of a Borough Council.

Meanwhile people do want value for money, a sense that taxes are spent wisely and that Pontefract draws down its share of resources. The six existing Pontefract Councillors elected by the community need to get on and address problems and concerns, building positive change that takes account of local peoples needs and priorities so that they feel better about Pontefract and its future.