WEST Devon Borough Council has refused to organise a parish poll — called for by voters in Burrator — on whether or not Britain should adopt the euro.
The council's elections officer Tony Rose wrote to Graham Palmer, one of those requesting the ballot, to tell him that because Burrator was a 'grouped' parish council, consisting of Meavy, Sheepstor and Walkhampton parishes, it was necessary to hold three parish meetings, not just the one.
Mr Palmer said: 'It didn't come as any great shock that West Devon Borough Council would find a way of getting out of doing the poll, but I'm pleased to learn that other councils are being more positive about the whole thing.
'West Devon has used a technicality to avoid having to holding the poll — the parish has been regarded as a single parish for over 20 years.
'I'm very disappointed. I feel the people aren't getting a fair chance of having a say about whether they want the euro or not.'
The matter has not yet gone before the parish council, which is the body that would have footed the bill.
Mr Rose went on in his letter to say that parish meetings, and hence parish polls, should be for parish matters and other broader matters affecting the parish in a specific way.
'I am of the firm view, having discussed this issue at length with the borough solicitor, that the issue of the pound sterling versus the euro is a national issue and does not affect any of the parishes within the group in a different way to the rest of the country,' said Mr Rose.
Mr Palmer contested this view. He said it clearly stated in Local Council Administration, a rule book for local authorities, that parish polls were legitimate for any issue and was not confined to "local" issues.
Mr Palmer said the cost to every elector of adopting the euro would be enormous and a legitimate interest of every parishioner.
He said the borough council had no idea how much of the tax payers' money it would have to spend on a conversion.
Dozens of polls are being held all over the country, but West Devon is not the only authority refusing to hold polls on the issue.
South Kesleven in Lincolnshire and South Buckingham district councils have also cited section 9 of the Local Government Act of 1972 to refuse.
Richard Buttrey of CARPuk, which is co-ordinating the polls nationally, said the part of the act, which the borough council was relying on, says: 'there shall be a parish meeting for the purpose of discussing parish affairs . . .'
He said this clearly referred to the annual parish meeting that parish councils were obliged to hold and not the optional ones that could be called on any matter by any six voters, at which any ten voters could then call a parish poll.
Lesley Smith of the Devon Association of Parish Councils said: 'The borough cannot refuse to hold the poll because of the subject matter.'
She added that although the law had been intended to allow a forum for debate about local matters only, there was no case in law to uphold that interpretation.
Mr Palmer said : 'We are going to rethink our strategy now. We may well launch another campaign.'