Plans to pass on the bill for local elections to parish councils in Gloucestershire have been pushed back.

Cotswold District Council is planning to charge town and parish councils for contested four-yearly elections from May 2023 onwards.

At present, the full cost of all elections is met by the district council. This is estimated cost £150,000 for the main elections plus around £50,000 for contested by-elections at either district and/or parish level across the four years.

The cost for a stand-alone election to be charged to a parish or town council with more than 3,000 voters is estimated to be £17,000. While parishes with less than 500 voters face a charge of £2,000

Opposition councillors object to the proposals which they see as a raid on local people’s pockets which would damage the democratic process.

Councillor Tony Berry (Con, Kemble) called the move a “straightforward money grab” by the Liberal Democrat administration.

“They continually talk about a ‘recovery strategy’ having inherited a strong financial position and then go and spend money on vanity projects,” he said.

“My big concern on this raid on people’s pockets is that councils will try to avoid the democratic process of elections to save the money – in direct contradiction to the stated Lib Dem principle of openness and transparency.”

Tetbury mayor Ann Pearce objected that parish councils had not had time to consider the changes and accused the district council of not following due process.

She called on the District Council last night (December 6) to delay their proposals to consult with parish councils.

Deputy leader Mike Evemy (Lib Dem, Siddington and Cerney Rural) agreed to defer making any decision on the proposals until January 10 and consult with parish councillors in the meantime.

He said all parish councils in the Cotswolds would be invited to take part in the online event.

“We want to hear and have the discussion. We want to give our context and why this paper is in front of us but we also want to hear suggestions and concerns from town or parish councils about how we might do things differently in future,” he said.

“The Lib Dems are rebuilding the council’s finances after inheriting a £1 million budget blackhole from the Conservatives led by Tony Berry.

“The Conservative Government has cut the council’s core funding by 60% since 2010, so we’re having to look at other ways to raise income to pay for local council services after years of Conservative cuts.”

“Cotswold District Council is the only council in Gloucestershire that doesn’t charge town and parish councils for any of their elections.

“We’ve committed to discussing this proposal with them and to look at how they can meet the cost of their elections.”