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Estate closer to boundary change

From the The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald, first published Friday 17th Feb 2006.

Residents at Cepen Park in Chippenham have moved a step closer to being handed a Council Tax rise.

District councillors last Wednesday recommended that the area, which currently lies in the rural parishes of Chippenham Without and Langley Burrell, be transferred to Chippenham Town parish.

If this goes ahead, homeowners would be forced to pay the same amount of Council Tax as other householders in the urban parish, which would be substantially larger than they are currently charged.

However, there have been calls, after it was suggested by district councillor Timothy Northey, for Cepen Park to become a parish on its own.

Chippenham mayor John Scragg, speaking for the town council, said they were in favour of incorporating Cepen Park into their boundary.

"Chippenham Town's boundaries have been regularly adjusted to reflect urban development," he said.

"Chippenham Without and Langley Burrell were created to administer the rural parts. The people there look to the town for their facilities."

Chippenham Without parish councillor Ken Kennedy said when such a review is carried out, guidelines state that the wishes of the local inhabitants should be the primary concern.

"This is the crux of our case," he said. "There's no doubt that the overwhelming wish of the majority of the inhabitants of Cepen Park is against moving into Chippenham Town and is in favour of the creation of a new Cepen Park parish."

The committee recommended three to two that Cepen Park be merged with Chippenham Town.

They also recommended that land to the east of Chippenham, including Stanley Park, be transferred from Bremhill Parish Council to the town and a section of land east of the railway line be transferred from Corsham.

The proposals will now go to the Personnel, Licensing and Administration committee, before it reaches the full town council.

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