Council dispute rumbles on

6:15pm Sunday 6th January 2008

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A parish council split by acrimonious disputes is not serving the interests of villagers, according to a leaked letter.

The entire parish council at Weston-on-the-Green, near Bicester, was ordered to seek mediation earlier this year after years of bitter arguments over the village's playing field.

But now councillors look likely to miss the deadline imposed by the Standards Board for England - despite being told to sort out their differences more than 10 months ago.

The order came in February following a string of abandoned council meetings, official complaints and formal investigations.

A letter written by Cherwell District Council monitoring officer Liz Howlett to the Standards Board, and seen by the Oxford Mail, said: "It remains my concern that the Weston-on-the-Green Parish Council is not, at present, serving the interests of its parishioners and I am keen for this to be resolved as quickly as possible."

The row began several years ago over plans to refurbish the village playing field.

Some villagers wanted to use volunteers but others said the work should be carried out by professionals.

Parish councillor Robin Stafford Allen, 57, said: "I can't see the mediation will solve any problems.

"You can't get people to change their spots.

"There will be continuing acrimony until we have some new elections."