Parish Poll Result for Thornbury High Street 26th May 2022
A resounding YES vote was given by the residents of Thornbury yesterday in favour of the TTaDRA motion
Do you want Thornbury High Street returned to its pre-pandemic status of through traffic for all vehicles and timed parking bays on both sides of the carriageway?”
From a total of 2,567 residents who voted 1852 (72%) voted YES and 707 (27%) voted NO
Only residents within Thornbury itself were permitted to vote in this Parish Poll which comprises a total electorate of 11,250 people eligible to vote
Of these 2,567 cast a vote (23% of the total)
1,852 supported the motion on the voting slip by voting YES (72%)
707 voted against the motion by voting NO (27%)
Ray Worsley a lifelong resident of Thornbury for 88 years said that “He had never seen so much interest or so many people voting in any election or referendum”
There were queues of around 100 waiting outside each polling station from the opening of the polls at 4.00pm until well after the official closing time of 9.00pm
Many elderly residents valiantly took their turn in the queue despite strong chilly winds and threatening rain to cast their vote on this emotive subject of the future of Thornbury
The three Polling Stations were overwhelmed and unable to cope with the unprecedent number of people wishing to vote in the 5 hours that the polling stations were open
For people who were already queueing the Polling Stations stayed open for an additional 45 minutes
It is believed that the Returning Officer will be making the points in his report that for any future Parish polls they need to be open for 15 hours (the same extended hours as a normal election) and that facilities within the polling stations should be increased to cope with demand
Many people who wished to vote were unable to do because of the restricted time the polling stations were open and fewer tellers than normal
There were reports that people were unable to queue for an hour because of other commitments and that others who were used to casting a postal vote were turned away from what they thought was their local polling station
There was no publicity by the Council or indeed polling cards
People in neighbouring villages who used Thornbury regularly were unable to vote since this was a Parish Poll. Residents had previously requested South Gloucestershire Council to hold a Referendum, which could have covered a wider geographical area, but were denied the opportunity
The atmosphere within the queues was good natured and almost a party atmosphere as those with different opinions made the most of their time in which there were thrown together. This was very pleasing after the past two years in which Thornbury Town Council and South Gloucestershire Council’s actions have divided the population on the issues of the future of both The High Street and the Armstrong Hall
Maybe there is now the opportunity to come together and agree the best way forward for Thornbury
No doubt residents of other towns throughout the country will be looking at the result of this Poll with interest
Thornbury Town and District Residents Association call upon the Councillors in Thornbury Town Council to pursue the interests of the Thornbury with renewed vigour in their discussion with South Gloucestershire Council
TTaDRA also call upon Toby Savage, the Cabinet, Councillors and Heads of Department to come to Thornbury and visit he residents to learn what is really needed rather than persue their Vision which patently now needs to be discarded
There will be opportunities to come together and determine what is best for the future of Thornbury but first South Gloucestershire Council need to accept the need for Full, Fair and Respectful Consultations