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WALLINGFORD has new hopes that its border battle with neighbouring Cholsey will be decided locally.

South Oxfordshire District Council chief executive David Buckle and council leader Ann Ducker have both confirmed with the town council that the issue can be decided by the district council and will not have to go before the Boundary Commission.

Wallingford wants its boundary to go along the line of the bypass which separates it from Cholsey. Cholsey's parish boundary includes land on the Wallingford side of the bypass.

That land could be used to take some of the 1,300 houses that the district council, pushed by national Government demands for housing, must provide.

If that happened, the council tax from the houses would go to Cholsey, but the residents would look to the town for shopping, health care, schools, entertainment and leisure outlets.

Town clerk Andrew Rogers said: "The bypass is the obvious boundary and the town council wants that to be our official border line.

"It is only right that if the houses are on the Wallingford side of the bypass and the people look to Wallingford, rather than Cholsey, for their needs that the town council should have the benefit of the council tax.

"We were under the impression at one stage that the Boundary Commission would have to be involved but we have been assured that is not now the case.

"We have not made formal moves yet - we are waiting to see what plans there will be for using that land for housing. We will make all the necessary moves like petitioning for a formal boundary change when we deal with the housing problem."

The boundary dispute has proved a dilemma for district council chairman Pat Dawe. She represents both Wallingford and Cholsey on the district council and is a member of Cholsey Parish Council, which is chaired by her husband Alan.

She told the town council that Cholsey, which is due to expand with a likely 300 new homes on the former Fair Mile Hospital site and in Celsea Place, would oppose any boundary change because it would need the council tax money to boost facilities in the village.

Mr Buckle told the town council that a formal request to realign the boundaries would be necessary and the district council will decide the issue after consulting Cholsey Parish Council.

Mrs Ducker agreed with town councillors that all infrastructure like roads and sewers would have to be in place before any housing development went ahead.

12:38pm Tuesday 29th April 2008

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