Whitburn campaigners hits back at councillor over parish council 'scaremongering'

A community body pushing for a South Tyneside village to gain parish council status has hit back at a councillor who has claimed the move could hit residents in the pocket.

The Whitburn Neighbourhood Forum branded Geraldine Kilgour’s warning of higher council tax bills a “complete legal falsehood” – and accused her of unwanted interference.

It said her claim the hike would come from South Tyneside Council “off-loading” services onto Whitburn householders due to its own financial pressures was legally impossible.

Chair Phil Leaf believes the intervention of Cllr Kilgour, the borough’s sole Labour representative, was an attempt to sow doubt in the minds of Whitburn householders.

Instead of increasing council tax bills, he insisted a small precept payment would allow a parish council to bring significant long-term financial benefits and give it power to fight off unwanted intrusion, including from house building.

Such is his concern about her comments – published in a press release - he has written on behalf of the forum to Paul Mackings, Leader of South Tyneside Council, asking him to formally intervene.

Mr Leaf countered: “We find it highly concerning that an outside councillor from miles away is attempting to influence local democracy in Whitburn using legally incorrect scare tactics.

“The ongoing consultation is a matter exclusively for those directly affected by it - the residents, businesses, and stakeholders within the Whitburn Neighbourhood Area.

“It is entirely inappropriate for outside politicians to use their institutional positions to interfere with or try to influence our electorate.

“Whitburn residents are perfectly capable of deciding their own future based on legal facts, not political scaremongering.

“We urge everyone to reject the outside interference, and vote 'yes' to take back control.”

Almost exactly 70 percent of the 352 village residents who took part in a first stage consultation backed the bid for a parish council.

It was carried out by South Tyneside Council as part of a legally binding Community Governance Review, with stage two set to conclude on Monday, November 23.

The forum was established in 2017 as a formally designated body to promote Whitburn’s social, environmental and economic status, but it expires in March.

Mr Leaf said the Local Government Act 1972 and the Localism Act 2011 forbid a principal council from unilaterally forcing or dumping its responsibilities onto a parish council.

Any devolution of services requires voluntary, mutual agreement through a legally binding contract.

He insisted a future Whitburn Parish Council would hold absolute autonomy and an unconditional legal veto to say ‘no’ to any unwanted liabilities.

Mr Leaf added: “The irony is that the borough is already cutting our services.

“Our iconic windmill sails have been stripped down and left unreplaced, our seasonal floral displays have been entirely axed, and our independent community volunteers had to completely fund and organise our village Remembrance decorations because central funding was pulled.

“Opponents want residents to believe that local governance requires an expensive, bloated bureaucracy, but real-world evidence from similarly sized communities proves otherwise.

“By law, every single penny raised stays strictly within Whitburn to protect our village infrastructure from centralised deficits."