Forgive me if councils have made me cynical

It all seems to depend on whose empire you’re talking about and what you stand to gain.

I seem to recall that resentment was widespread not so many years ago when Wiltshire Council seized our district council’s assets, then set about redistributing them and “harmonising” services for everyone else’s benefit except ours.

Since then I’ve asked myself many times what on earth our district councillors were doing that prevented them from seeing this disaster on the horizon.

Bickering about the cost of Bourne Hill? Distracted by the expensive repercussions of that row over whether to build a multi-storey on the central car park? Remember that?

Wondering how on earth they were going to meet the old regional assembly’s lunatic house-building targets without every hillside on the horizon disappearing under concrete?

Or simply resting their eyelids over their agenda papers?

Well, a handful of those old stalwarts are still around on the city council. And what has this emasculated body learned from the experience?

Oh yes, let’s see if we can annexe all the little parish councils around us, whether they ask us to or not, and we’ll get lots more lovely council tax.

Wiltshire have asked us if there’s anywhere we’ve taken a fancy to, so they can’t blame us.

We won’t go bothering Wilton because they’re a) more historic and b) stroppier than us, and what’s more their mayor, town clerk and one of their councillors too all turned up at the Guildhall to keep an eye on our deliberations. No use picking a fight that we probably wouldn’t win.

But what about Laverstock & Ford? Despite all those green bits it’s got new housing going up all over the place.

With a population growing at that rate, and our higher tax precept, it’d be a nice little earner. After all, they use our crematorium, don’t they?

What’s that you say?

They don’t want to be taken over?

Don’t want to be charged more for the privilege?

Say we never asked for their opinion?

Now where have I heard that before?

anneriddle36@gmail.com

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