Brookside Brexit call from Councillor
A councillor has called for Brookside to be split from Stirchley because residents feel ‘let down’ by the parish council that currently represents both areas.
Councillors were discussing their responses to a governance review being carried out by Telford & Wrekin Council when they met at the Sambrook Centre on Tuesday.
Stirchley & Brookside Parish Council has one councillor for Holmer Lake, seven from Stirchley and five from Brookside.
Councillor Stuart Cook (Brookside) said: “Combined with my own point of view and people I have spoken to I believe that Brookside should either become independent or go in with Madeley.
“I think Stirchley has had time to support Brookside and a lot of the residents feel that they are a forgotten area.
“Now we’ve got chance for a change I think we should take it.”
Councillor Cook later added: “For a very long time Brookside has felt that they have been left alone, they are separate and they don’t get the right support.”
He added that residents “want to go independent” or go with another council because they feel let down by this council.
Councillor Arnold England, who represents Brookside on both the parish and Telford & Wrekin Council, said he had also heard similar views in the community.
“Initially I thought oh, that would be a good idea. We would have our own parish council but then when you look at the size and the amount of work, social deprivation, unemployment and so on, it is not feasible for it to stand alone.”
He said he had attended a meeting on Monday at Madeley Town Council when it “totally disagreed” with the idea that they should take Brookside under its wing.
He said he would “go along” with Stirchley & Brookside Parish Council remaining as it is.
But he said one “thought, not a proposal” was to merge Hollinswood & Randlay Parish Council with Stirchley & Brookside and call it The Nedge.
The meeting was told that the creation of a new, larger, council called The Nedge had been proposed under a similar local governance review in 2023.
Councillor Tammy Wood (Stirchley, vice chair) said the issue was more about the council engaging with residents to let them know what the situation is.
She said residents views are “not in line with what has actually happened” and in fact there are “similar views in Stirchley that “their money is funding more there” (in Brookside.
“That actually isn’t the case,” she said. “As a council we have put significant monies into both”
Councillor Clare Lloyd, who chairs the meeting and represents Brookside, said: “We split things 50/50, it has always been that way.”
Councillor Cook said Brookside should get more resources because it is judged to be a deprived area.
Councillor Greg Sinclair (Holmer Lake Ward) said: “The people letting Brookside down is the borough council” because of the area’s crime rate.
The councillors were encouraged to send in their personal views to Telford & Wrekin Council.
But as a body and by a majority, they went along with a proposals to take the HEM housing development area into the Stirchley ward, and to keep the number of councillors the same, at 13.
The clerk confirmed that the vote ended with eight votes for that response, with one against and one abstention.
Telford and Wrekin residents, town and parish councils and others have until Monday April 14 to share their views and suggestions. Feedback can be submitted via an online survey, by email or by post.
Telford & Wrekin Council says all comments will be reviewed before updated proposals are presented to the Boundary Review Committee for approval.
If approved, there will be a further consultation period for residents and stakeholders to comment on any proposed changes.
The final outcome of the review, including any changes to council arrangements, will take effect at the next local election in May 2027.
Story & pic by David Tooley – Local Democracy Reporter
