The Boundary Review Committee of Telford and Wrekin Council met to receive an update on the second and final consultation stage of the Community Governance Review. Councillors were also asked to note eleven submissions made during the consultation. The Committee was being asked to agree to conclude the review with no changes to the existing boundaries of the borough’s Town and Parish Councils.

Community Governance Review

The Committee received a report on the Community Governance Review that was scheduled to conclude the following week. The report included a summary of responses to the final consultation on the proposal to make no changes to the existing Town and Parish Councils in the Borough.

The report pack provided to Councillors included a draft recommendation that the Committee note the eleven submissions received, conclude the review with no changes to the existing arrangements, and delegate authority to the Director: Policy & Governance, Anthea Lowe, to publish the final outcome of the review.

Background to the Review

The Local Government Act 1972¹ places a duty on all principal councils to carry out regular reviews of the community governance arrangements in their areas. The guidance issued under the Act suggests that this should be carried out every 10-15 years.

Telford and Wrekin Council’s previous Community Governance Review was completed in 2010. The Boundary Review Committee agreed to commence a new review at its meeting on 07 September 2023.

The first round of consultation ran from September 2023 to December 2023. The Committee considered the 79 submissions received during the first round of consultation in July 2024. At that meeting, the Committee decided to proceed to the final round of consultation on the basis that no changes be made to the existing arrangements for Town and Parish Councils. The report pack states that this was due to the range of interest in the initial proposals, but does not elaborate on what this means.

The final round of consultation commenced in July 2024 and closed on 04 September, just one day before this meeting.

Submissions in the final round of consultation

The report pack says that during the second round of consultation eleven submissions were received from residents, Parish and Town Councils, and a single elected member.

The report pack lists the following parish and town councils that made submissions during the final consultation:

• Chetwynd Aston & Woodcote Parish Council
• Church Aston Parish Council
• Donnington & Muxton Parish Council
• Hollinswood & Randlay Parish Council
• Lilleshall Parish Council
• Little Wenlock Parish Council
• Newport Town Council
• Priorslee Parish Council
• Stirchley & Brookside Parish Council
• Waters Upton Parish Council

Chetwynd Aston and Woodcote Parish Council

The submission from Chetwynd Aston & Woodcote Parish Council objected to the inclusion of the new Station Road development in Newport. The Parish Council argued that residents of the development do not access the services and facilities in Newport that are funded by the Town Council’s precept, and that it would be unfair for them to have to pay for them.

Church Aston Parish Council

Church Aston Parish Council’s submission expressed support for the proposal to make no changes, and objected to the initial proposal to merge the Parish with Lilleshall Parish Council and Muxton Parish Council. The Parish Council said that this proposal had caused unnecessary upset and confusion, and argued that an autonomous Parish Council is essential for preserving community identity, effective representation and providing high-quality services to residents.

Donnington and Muxton Parish Council

Donnington and Muxton Parish Council supported the proposal to make no changes, but argued that the initial proposals were not in line with government guidelines.

A resident of the Parish also wrote in support of the proposal to make no changes, arguing that the 79 submissions in the first round of consultation were only received because of a lack of awareness of the review and its potential impact.

Hollinswood and Randlay Parish Council

Hollinswood and Randlay Parish Council supported the recommendation to make no changes, but echoed the view that there had been insufficient consultation with Town and Parish Councils.

Lilleshall Parish Council

Like Church Aston Parish Council, Lilleshall Parish Council’s submission expressed support for the proposal to make no changes and objection to the proposal to merge it with Church Aston and Muxton. The submission argued that:

Maintaining autonomy is crucial for the community’s identity, effective representation and providing high quality services to residents

and that:

Merging with others would erode Lilleshall’s unique historical and cultural identity and lead to a loss of local character

Little Wenlock Parish Council

Little Wenlock Parish Council welcomed the proposal to make no changes, but repeated a previous request to increase the number of Councillors representing the Parish from five to seven.

Newport Town Council

A resident of Newport argued that the Parish Boundary should be altered to include a number of dwellings being built near Hutchison Way that are within the Newport ward, but outside of the Parish boundary, and therefore not liable to pay the Town Council precept.

Priorslee Parish Council

A resident submitted a collection of proposals for changes to the boundaries of Priorslee and a number of nearby Parish and Town Councils, including:

• That the part of Priorslee that contains Redhill should instead become part of a new “Central Parish”.
• That the polling districts of TP5, TSG, TSP, TSE and TSW should be merged with WMM, WMH, WDG, WDE, WDO and part of TWR to form a new “Central Parish”
• That the remainder of TWR and TWW should become part of Oakengates.

Stirchley and Brookside Parish Council

A Councillor from Stirchley and Brookside Parish Council welcomed the proposal to make no changes, but said that the process had been unfair and that the initial proposal to merge the Parish with Brookside had not taken into account the impact on communities.

Waters Upton Parish Council

Waters Upton Parish Council made contact to confirm that it supported the proposal for there to be no changes.