As expected the government has devolved the final decision on whether an area can have a town or parish council to borough councils. Quoted in the Andover Advertiser, Stephen Lugg, Director of the Hampshire Associaiton of Local Councils condemned the move as “disastrous”. Mr Lugg argued that the county council should make the decision because the borough council is using evidence from ten years ago, based on a small selection of people that they selected, to say that Andover does not want a town council.

 Borough council leader Ian Carr continues to argue that borough councillors are in a better position to know about the “real feeling” of the town and also makes the unsubstatiated claim that a town council would cost more.

My own experience is that the voters of Andover are quite capable of making up their own minds as to whether they want a town council and do not need borough councillors from outside the town to make that decision for them. The case that town and parish councils are more expensive is not proven. In fact parishes adjacent to Andover have a lower council tax precept that the Andover levy which Cllr Carr charges Andoverians for the services he thinks a town council would supply.

I share Mr Lugg’s concern that the case for a town council may not get a fair hearing from the borough but would like to re-assure him that Test Valley’s Liberal Democrats are fimly commited to establishing a town council for Andover and look forward to the completion of the town council petition which will prove beyond doubt that the people of Andover want the same democratic rights as every other ciitzen of Test Valley.