Large-scale council projects will now go to Thatcham public vote

Town councillors decided on Monday that if they wanted to take out a loan to finance a project that had not been identified in the parish plan, they would put it to a public vote.
The initial motion, proposed by the council’s Conservatives, had sought to go to give residents the final say if the council was going to take on a debt of £250,000 or more for a community scheme.
However, the ruling Liberal Democrat party threw out this proposal in favour of a softer option, taking out the monetary value and only allowing the public to decide if the project was not already listed in the latest parish plan.
Speaking in favour of his proposal for a parish poll on borrowing more than £250,000, town and district councillor Roger Croft (Con, Thatcham South and Crookham) said: “The motion does not stop Thatcham Town Council from taking on more debt.
“It merely makes a commitment to the residents of Thatcham that for any future debt proposals there will be a full debate about the proposal and that the residents of Thatcham will be able to express their opinions at a ballot box.
“As we start, thanks to the coalition Government, to see the light at the end of the [economic] tunnel, I believe Thatcham Town Council should now make a commitment, and say that this council will not take on substantial further debt without a detailed consultation with the residents and ending with those residents having their say at the ballot box.
“Thatcham residents’ future options will be constrained by having a substantial debt and it is Thatcham residents who will have to pay the debt back in the future.”
However, the Liberal Democrats threw out the Tory motion and instead voted through their amendment, with all but one of the Conservative councillors voting against.
In defending the Liberal Democrat-backed plan to restore the town centre building The Priory – the project which sparked the debate about the council’s future spending – the leader of the council, Lee Dillon (Thatcham North), said: “During the original parish plan in 2006, and also through last year’s refresh, residents have told us that the want to see a central community facility.
“The Liberal Democrat-run council has listened to those views and have embarked on turning The Priory building into a new community facility.”
Talking after the meeting, Mr Dillon added: “We were disappointed that our amendment didn’t find full support from the other side, and it would appear that the Tories are now happy for the council to borrow money even when the public have shown no support for the project.
“The Liberal Democrats believe in delivering projects that the community have called for, rather than fighting against them, which is a big difference between us and the Tories.”
Mr Croft dismissed Mr Dillon’s comments, saying that the policy as it now stands does not go far enough to protect the town from future debt.
“I am disappointed that the Liberal Democrat majority emasculated my proposal to have a parish poll before any future large debt commitment.
“Would people have requested a community facility in central Thatcham if they knew that it would leave the residents of Thatcham with a £1m-plus mortgage they would have to pay off?
“That is the question that my motion would have addressed. But the Lib Dem majority don’t want that level of financial transparency. So they voted it down.”