Campaign for Wigan residents to have their say on future of parish council and precept

Shevington Parish Council does work in the village, such as maintaining green spaces, funded by a Government grant and a precept paid by residents alongside council tax.

But questions have now been raised about why people in Shevington pay this precept, which currently ranges from £16.93 per year for band A properties to £50.80 for band H.

Gareth Fairhurst, leader of Shevington Independents, is calling for a referendum on whether the precept and parish council should continue.

Wigan Council can carry out a community governance review to make changes or abolish the parish council.

He said: “I cannot understand why Labour and the council will not allow the residents of Shevington the vote on whether they continue to pay higher council tax than the other parts of the borough or get rid of it and pay the same as everyone else.

"I don't know why they dislike the residents of Shevington so much that they ‘insist’ they pay more and that is what they are doing by not allowing the residents the vote insisting – demanding – extra from Shevington residents."

One way of triggering a community governance review is if a sufficient proportion of the electorate signs a petition.

Mr Fairhurst says 565 signatures are needed in Shevington and he is close to reaching that number.

People can sign the petition at shevingtonindependents.com or email [email protected] to request to sign the paper version.

Shevington Parish Council said it was not aware of the petition and councillors cannot give interviews unless formally delegated to do so by the parish council.

Instead, we were directed to the parish council’s website, which lists its work, including maintaining the grounds at Shevington Memorial Park and Garden and the allotments and bowling green on Forest Fold. It also fills planters, provides litter bins, benches, notice boards and Christmas trees, and organises a parade and service on Remembrance Sunday.

Labour councillor Paul Collins, who represents Shevington with Lower Ground on Wigan Council, said the opinions of people living in Shevington should be prioritised and overall residents’ feedback about the parish council was “positive”.

He continued: “For example, many of our residents were thrilled when the parish council used special purchasing powers to purchase the land and open spaces on Vicarage Lane, now used by many of our green-fingered residents in new allotments thanks to dedicated local volunteers from Shevington Gardening Club etc, and to support activities for hundreds of our local kids every week thanks to local dedicated volunteers from Shevington Sharks and Shevington FC etc, also boasting brand new state-of-the-art sports facilities available for the wider community.

"Not forgetting of course, the added protection the land and local natural habitat now has from the interest of property developers etc, which would not have been possible without the effective intervention of our parish council. As local councillors we regularly work with our parish council on many projects that bring funding and benefits to the ward such as state-of-the-art re-deployable CCTV, Christmas lighting etc.

"Rest assured that we will continue to take on board issues and concerns raised with us by our residents ensuring they get the best possible representation on Wigan Council.”