Why you should vote in local elections

Town and Parish council elections get a bad rep. While around two-thirds of the voting population are motivated to get out and vote in a General Election, in elections for local “top-tier” councils (such as Central Bedfordshire Council) that don’t coincide with a General Election see turnout dropping to around a third.

For Town and Parish council elections that don’t coincide with General Elections or “top-tier” local council elections, this can drop to a paltry tenth of the voting population!

The by-election for Dunstable’s Northfields ward (covering the French’s Avenue, Beecroft, Brewers Hill Road, Chiltern Road, Printers Way and Crabtree Way areas) is on the 24th November. So why should you get out and vote?

The Town Council doesn’t cover the headline responsibilities such as roads, street lighting, refuse collection, economic development and development planning – they’re all handled by Central Bedfordshire Council. So what does the Town Council do?

There’s three main areas: Environmental, Community and Planning consultations:

Under the Environmental label the Town Council provides cemetery services, allotments, management and maintenance of 15 parks and open spaces (including 11 play areas and 17 sports pitches) and the Town Centre regeneration scheme.

For Community issues, local facilities such as Dunstable Market, Grove Corner and Grove Skate Park (for young people), older people’s services at Beecroft Community Centre and Creasey Park, general facilities such as the Peter Newton Pavilion and Downside Community Centre all require significant management.

And although the Town Council doesn’t have primary responsibility for Planning decisions, it is a statutory consultee, providing direct local input into decisions on individual planning applications and the wider Central Bedfordshire Local Plan. For Northfields, the future of the French’s Avenue tip site, the former Greenacres Residential Home and the old AC Delco site and Highways Depot on Brewers Hill Road are all yet to be determined.

What many voters don’t recognise is that they are paying for the work undertaken by all layers of government through direct taxation. For Town and Parish Councils, this is funded by a “precept” (an additional levy) on your Council Tax bill.

If you live in a Band D property in Dunstable, for 2015/16 you will pay £1,750.68 in council tax. The Town Council’s proportion of this is £171.78 (link). That doesn’t sound like much, but across all properties in Dunstable that comes to over £2m!

Unlike in General Elections, with a 10% turnout EVERY VOTE MATTERS. Even just a handful of extra voters can produce a large swing.

If you really don’t care how £2m of your money gets spent then fine, by all means, stay at home. But if you care about how your share of this gets spent on Northfields, then make the effort on the 24th.

Get off the sofa, turn off the TV, walk to your local Polling Station and make your mark.

David Gurr and Elaine Morgan are Liberal Democrat candidates for the Dunstable Town Council (Northfields) by-election on the 24th November. For information on Elaine and David’s campaign pledges please visit www.facebook.com/DunstableLibDems or www.centralbedslibdems.org.uk.

Published (hosted) and promoted by David Gurr on behalf of Elaine Morgan and David Gurr, all at 34 Appleby Gardens, Dunstable LU6 3DB.