RESIDENTS living in Stratton St Margaret will go to the polls today to decide whether they agree with a precept increase to pay for services which Swindon Borough Council is looking to off load.

The council is currently looking to devolve a number of responsibilities, such as street cleaning and dealing with any graffiti in a bid to save £20m in the next financial year.

As a result, parishes are being asked to take on the services and Stratton St Margaret is the first parish to hold a referendum on the proposed transfer which would likely see a precept increase of three to four per cent.

Coun Joe Tray, chairman of Stratton St Margaret (Lab, Penrill & Upper Stratton) said he hopes people use, rather than lose their vote.

“There has been quite mixed feeling about the devolution of the work from people and a lot of them have questions for the Borough Council,” he said.

“The reason we wanted to take it to a poll is that we feel that people of Stratton St Margaret deserve to be fully aware of what the decision entails.

“A lot of people feel that they pay for the services through their council tax already which I understand.

“The parish of Stratton has always had a good reputation of doing work in the area and our garden area in particular we are very proud of so there is the thought that services will be improved in the parish if we take it on.”

A number of parishes have taken on the transfer and it is anticipated that others will follow suit and hold a referendum in the coming months.

Coun Tray said if the poll produces a no vote, the parish might not have any choice but to accept the Streetsmart responsibility.

He added: “We have based the increase on what the Borough Council have said they will save in Stratton which is about £100,000 a year.”

“The only difficulty is that people won’t have a polling card but that doesn’t mean they can’t vote. If they are a Stratton St Margaret resident, they can turn up to their local polling station, which they would go to for any other vote or election, give their name and address and they will be given the opportunity to vote.”

Residents will be able to vote between 4-9pm tomorrow at the following polling stations; St Philips Church in Beechcroft Road, Stratton Youth Centre in Hyde Road, Meadowcroft Community Centre in Addison Crescent, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Highworth Road, Grange Leisure in Grange Drive, Upper Stratton Baptist Church in Green Road and Coleview Community Centre in Towcester Road.

The decision will be made public on the Stratton St Margaret parish website tomorrow, Friday.