Swindon Borough Council has pledged to work more closely with its counterparts in the parishes.

The cabinet member for joint working and partnerships, Councillor Jim Grant, told his colleagues on the authority’s ruling body how crucial such a link-up could be for the Labour administration after listening to feedback from Swindon's various parish councils.

Cllr Grant said: “The only way this council can achieve anything, especially its three missions, is by collaborative working. And a major plank in that is working with the parish councils.

“Shortly after we came to power, I met with many of the 21 parishes there are in the borough band and asked what we could do for them.

“The first thing they said was ‘talk to us’. They felt that the borough council had been ignoring them until now.”

But Cllr Grant added there were more substantive requirements the smaller councils had - an officer in Euclid Street dedicated to working and liaising with parish councils, the payments of all the Section 106 monies paid by developers that was owed to the parish councils and a joint working protocol so that the borough and parish councils each knew where they stood.

The council has already agreed a policy of transferring community centres and the like to parishes in order to keep them open. And the new plan will see both authorities looking for ways to collaborate further.

One major service could be libraries.

Cllr Grant’s report says:” There are five core libraries delivered by the borough council which forms part of the council’s statutory service and nine community libraries delivered by parish councils or community organisations, with agreed services such as stock management and training delivered by the borough council library service.

As part of planning for sustainable delivery of library services, the council will explore the opportunities for further collaborative arrangements between the councils with regard to the future delivery of library services.”

The protocol agreed by the council which could be signed by the council’s chief executive and the chair of the Parish Councils’ Forum says: “We believe that working together will improve service delivery, strengthen local decision making and enhance engagement with residents. This in turn will develop and support socially, economically, and environmentally healthy and sustainable communities.

“Key to working together are the timely transfer of information, recognition of the role that both can play in enhancing service provision, ensuring that all officers and councillors understand the Protocol and how it is relevant in their respective roles and job descriptions.”