Campaign for creation of Wycombe council

Residents of High Wycombe have been asked whether the town should have its own council.

Buckinghamshire Council has announced a new consultation for people who live in the unparished area of High Wycombe to share their views on the governance of the town.

High Wycombe is already governed by Buckinghamshire Council and its ward councillors, the High Wycombe Town Committee, charter trustees and the mayor and the High Wycombe Community Board.

However, campaigners claim High Wycombe is an outlier among county’s other towns, which all have their own town councils.
Amersham, Aylesbury, Beaconsfield, Chesham, Gerrards Cross, Marlow and Princes Risborough are each represented by their own civil local authorities.

Parish or town councils – the lowest rung of democracy – are responsible for some local decision making and services such as allotments and cemeteries.

But because High Wycombe does not have a town council, services such as these are currently overseen by Bucks Council.

However, a new group campaigning for the creation of a ‘High Wycombe Town Council’ is looking to change that.

Launched at the weekend, the ‘Our Town Our Voice’ campaign argues for greater decision-making powers for High Wycombe through the creation of a new town council.

This group is separate to the council’s similarly named consultation ‘Your Voice, Your Town’ which launched on Monday and remains open until 11.59pm on Sunday April 7 2024.

The ‘Our Town Our Voice’ group claims that councillors in Wycombe wards currently have to ‘beg’ to Bucks Council in Aylesbury for taxpayers’ money to be spent in Wycombe.

Former Wycombe mayor Trevor Snaith of the campaign told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that having a town council would restore some of Wycombe’s ‘pride’ and some of the ‘feel’ he said the town had lost.

He also outlined several practical reasons why High Wycombe should have its own town council such as the potential reacquisition of assets currently owned by Bucks Council such as the Wycombe Swan Town Hall, the Guildhall, cemeteries, parks and car parks.

Trevor said: “These are all things that could be passed back to the town and the town would then be able to manage them. The proceeds from them would be used directly with the town.”

The former mayor also said that the creation of a town council would give some communities more control over things like next-day burials and the securing of grants for events in the town.

However, the ‘biggest’ reason to give Wycombe its own town council, which ‘nobody realises’, according to Trevor, is that a town council can create its own local plan to govern future building and development.

The ex- mayor explained: “That local plan means that people of the town can decide their future and then Buckinghamshire Council has to actually work with that plan. At the minute Buckinghamshire is setting the agenda for Wycombe.”

More information on the governance of High Wycombe and on how to have your say, can be accessed online here: https://yourvoicebucks.citizenspace.com/corporate-services/high-wycombe-cgr/

The chair of the council’s standards and general purposes committee, David Goss, said: “We’re encouraging everyone who lives in the unparished area of High Wycombe to look out for your letter containing the information booklet and survey.

“This is your opportunity to share your thoughts on how you and your community are represented.”

More information on the campaign can be found here: highwycombetowncouncil.org.uk