Call to move 200 homes

A PARISH boundary review of Portishead has been called for after it was revealed people living in the town and using its facilities are paying their rates to a neighbouring village.Councillors on Portishead and North Weston Town Council are asking North Somerset Council to review the current wards in the town after it was revealed around 200 homes in the new Ashlands development sit in the parish of Portbury.This means that although the residents use facilities in Portishead as they are closer to the town, Portbury receives the money from these homes on the council tax precept. Councillors now want to see this changed, with all of The Ashlands included within the boundary of Portishead and the council tax revenue going to town council coffers.Portishead councillor Barry Walters said: "Periodically the boundaries between parishes have been adjusted."What has happened is that around 200 of the new houses in The Ashlands are actually in the Portbury parish, so it is Portbury which collects council tax from them on its precept."Some of the people in The Ashlands are using the facilities in Portishead, yet swelling Portbury Parish Council's coffers."I expect there will be concerns raised by Portbury Parish Council over the loss of some council tax income."If the review gets the green light, it is likely the way the town is split into different wards will also be looked at.Cllr Walters said: "Some of the wards, with the increasing development will become huge."On average, each ward has about 2,500 constituents but this is likely to go up to 4,000 with all the new developments."It would make sense that once the boundary review is completed to also do a review of wards."Portishead is currently split into six wards with three town councillors and one district representing each.It currently has a population of more than 20,000 which is expected to swell to 30,000 in the next few years.