Community Governance Review - stage 2 - Eggington

Responses from consultation

Parish council: LLTC Exceptional Meeting Regarding Eggington Boundary — Eggington Parish Council — see below

Joint Cllrs Leighton-Linslade TC (see pages 208 to 218 of appendix B)

View the Eggington Parish Council Letter of Representation (PDF)

14 responses

Comments:

“As a member of Eggington Parish, we were surveyed a couple of years ago over whether we wanted the boundary to change. 97% voted to remain in Eggington. A number of councillors from Leighton Linslade Town council are now trying to force a boundary change against the will of residents. They are stirring up bad feelings over social media and accusing Eggington residents of not paying our way. They need to respect democracy and should be instructed to pipe down”

“Eggington Village should be separate to the new housing estate. The new houses should be a part of Leighton Linslade Town Council.”

“Normally new homes are within the built environment of Leighton-Linslade.”

“Eggington is over 1 mile away from the area in which I live (Clipstone park) and not representative of the local area. The only effort at engagement made by Eggington Parish Council is a single notice board in the Clipstone Park area. This notice board is not kept up-to-date with some items shown over 1 year past their date of reference.”

“Parts using Leighton-Linslade parish Services should be included/moved to within Leighton-Linslade boundary and pay accordingly.”

“As a new owner, I voted to see whether the Clipstone Park development should be part of Eggington Parish or Leighton Buzzard Town. As a new homeowner, I voted for the sensible, geographical division making Clipstone Park part of Leighton Buzzard Town. Part of the information distributed at the time of the vote mentioned Council tax in Eggington Parish being significantly lower than for Leighton Buzzard Town. I suspect this is the reason they work those Eggington.”

“The Eggington Parish is doing very well after the addition of the Clipstone Park developments. The Parish Council are doing a lot of noticeable things across the parish and are spending the budget well and wisely. There is no need to make any changes.”

“This Clipstone Park lot do not wish to be drawn into LLTC as the Leighton councillors clearly just see the new housing development as cash cows. Frankly I am offended by their comments of Clipstone Park residents not contributing.”

“Very happy with being in Eggington Parish.”

“Clipstone Park should remain in Eggington. – and no changes should be made.”

Eggington Parish Council response to LLTC:

“Chair, Councillors, thank you for the opportunity to speak.

I’m here on behalf of Eggington Parish Council to respectfully challenge the motion proposing a boundary change to incorporate the Clipstone Park development into Leighton-Linslade Parish.

We must first highlight that this matter has already been subject to a full and democratic review in recent years. That process involved wide consultation, thorough assessment, and ultimately, a clear and legitimate outcome: to retain Clipstone Park within the parish boundary of Eggington Parish.

Crucially, the residents of Clipstone Park themselves voted overwhelmingly to remain within Eggington Parish. There is no compelling evidence that their views have changed. In fact, our ongoing engagement with residents suggests that they continue to identify more closely with the existing parish governance than with the proposed alternative. Their wishes deserve to be respected — and rightly so. The full impact wasn’t yet visible. However, since then, we’ve seen the beginnings of genuine cohesion between the long-standing village community and newer residents in Clipstone. Relationships are forming, shared concerns are emerging, and our Parish Council works hard to serve all our residents equally. One of our most significant milestones will be taking on the lease of the historic village hall from a separate resident association to keep it available for the community.

The assertion in this motion that our Parish Council is ill-equipped to handle the demands of a growing community is simply inaccurate. We are a group of committed volunteers who have consistently delivered results for residents across the parish — from infrastructure improvements to community engagement and environmental stewardship. We may be small, but we are effective, responsive, and deeply rooted in the needs of our local population.

While the motion cites community cohesion and governance efficiency, we would argue that forcing a boundary change against the will of local people risks undermining both. Governance should not be dictated solely by geographic proximity or assumptions about service access, but by community identity, resident preference, and local effectiveness — all of which are currently being met within Eggington Parish.

In conclusion, this motion disregards the outcome of a recent democratic process, the expressed will of residents, the emerging unity between communities, and the demonstrated capability of Eggington Parish Council. We urge the Council to respect the status quo — not out of resistance to change, but in support of local democracy, identity, and fairness.”

Feedback received through the public consultation, indicated a preference to retain the current level of representation and to make no other changes. This view has been considered alongside the Working Group’s rationale to ensure that any final draft recommendation reflects the aims of the terms of reference as well as the views of the community.

Draft recommendations

1. that the parish name of Eggington should remain unchanged
2. that the parish is unwarded and that the number of councillors remain unchanged at 7
3. amend the parish boundary to move the development of Clipstone Park, Stearn Land, Leedon and the Pastures into the parish of Leighton-Linslade

Reason for recommendations

The recommendation to move the boundary is made in accordance with the request of a number of Councillors from Leighton-Linslade to ensure effective and convenient local government and to improve representation and enhance community engagement and cohesion.