How to establish your own parish or town council

Creating a parish or town council involves structured steps to ensure community support and proper governance. These steps include researching the legislative process and engaging with the community to gather support, as well as establishing a new parish or town council, followed by elections for council members.

Here are the steps required to establish your own parish or town council:

Understand the process — Research the legislative process in creating a parish or town council.
Community engagement — Engage with the local community to gather support and demonstrate the benefits of having a parish or town council.
Petition for a community governance review — Collect signatures from local electors. The required number of signatures varies by the area's population. 7.5% for areas with over 2,500 electors, 250 signatures for areas with 500 to 2,500 electors, and 50% of electors for areas with fewer than 500 electors.
Submit the petition — Present the petition to the principal authority, who will validate the signatures.
Community governance review — The principal authority conducts a community governance review within 12 months of submission, which includes consultation with residents and other stakeholders.
Review and consultation — Participate in the consultation process and provide evidence and arguments supporting the establishment of the new parish or town council.
Decision-making — The principal authority will decide based on the community governance review findings and community feedback. If the decision is positive, they will outline the new parish or town council's structure, boundaries, and electoral arrangements.
Implementation — Once approved, the new parish or town council will be established, and council members will be elected.

It is important to keep momentum between these different stages. Your work isn’t done once you have submitted your petition. You must ensure residents are well informed and vote during the consultation period. The first elections will likely be months away if the principal authority decides to favour a new parish or town council. Your campaign group must ensure residents are engaged during this time, encouraging people to stand for elections.

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