The Chairman of Britwell Parish Council has hit back at Slough Borough Council after a leaflet written by SBC recommended that residents vote to abolish the parish council in Britwell in an upcoming referendum.

Ballot papers have been sent to residents in Britwell for them to cast their votes on whether or not the parish council should be abolished, with residents required to decide on the issue before November 9.

Slough Borough Council sent a leaflet to residents recommending they vote in favour of the abolition, saying that following a reduction in size to the parish council in 2013, the Borough Council ‘had hoped a reduction in size would enable the parish council to operate in a more strategic and focused way and bring about improved community engagement and more effective and convenient delivery of local services’.

However, the leaflet went on to say SBC were ‘not convinced the parish council has made any significant improvements in the way it works’ and that they were ‘not convinced the parish council has succeeded in bringing the community together despite it being a smaller parish council’.

Britwell Parish Council Locum Clerk Jonathan Holder responded to the accusations in the leaflet, arguing that the leaflet did not propose sufficient improvements for residents to vote in favour of the parish council’s abolition.

In his letter, he wrote: “The Borough Council’s Review Team, as expressed in their leaflet to Britwell residents, is proposing a democratic deficit, in removing the presence of the Parish Council, but providing no real substance as to how and to what extent its direct administration would result in a material improvement for residents.

“The Parish Council consists of local people, who are able to hear and express Residents’ concerns – be it to Neighbourhood Police who attend Council meetings or on local planning applications . That local democratic voice will disappear with the Borough Council’s proposals.”