From 5 August, people can give their comments as part of a review which aims to ensure Dorset’s town and parish councils continue to reflect the communities they represent.
Town and parish councils play a vital role in providing local services and acting for their communities. Through what is known as a Community Governance Review, Dorset Council wants to hear local people’s views on whether:
- the boundaries of the parish need changing
- an alternative set up would work better, ie for very small areas if a parish meeting would work better rather than a parish council.
- the parish should be divided into wards, or existing wards need altering
- the parish should be grouped with other town/parish councils
They can also give their thoughts on
- changing the number of town/parish councillors
- changing their town/parish council’s name
The consultation starts on 5 August. See full details of the review (link to online questionnaire will be available from 5 August).
Cllr Spencer Flower, Leader of Dorset Council, said: “Town and parish councils provide and maintain many essential services for their local communities, and are at the heart of our towns and villages.
“Needs and communities change over time, so this review is timely and required to be undertaken to keep local democracy up to date. It also gives an opportunity to harness the knowledge and experiences of local people to ensure their councils reflect local identities and interests.
“It is an appropriate time to undertake the review of all town and parish councils in the area, being just over two years since Dorset Council was formed.”
As well as the online questionnaire, paper copies will be available at Dorset Council’s libraries or by calling 01305 251010 from 5 August.
Comments need to be submitted by 28 October 2021. The comments will be considered and draft recommendations prepared for Full Council on 14 December 2021. Further consultation will then follow and these comments will be considered before a decision is made by Dorset Council in April 2022.
Any changes to the town and parish councils will become effective from May 2024.
The review is a legal process and offers an opportunity to put in place strong, clearly defined boundaries, tied to firm ground features, and remove any boundary irregularities that may exist.
The Guidance on Community Governance Reviews issued by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government published in 2008 recommends that a principal council (in this case, Dorset Council) should undertake a review of its area every 10-15 years.
The process is:
- Public consultation for 12 weeks seeking proposals/initial submissions (5 August to 28 October 2021).
- Consideration of consultation responses and preparation of draft recommendations (to be agreed by Full Council – December 2021).
- Public consultation on draft recommendations (20 December 2021 – 28 February 2022).
- Consideration of further responses and then publication of final recommendations for Full Council – April 2022).
We feel that the Dorset Council is not representative of the residents of the town of Dorchester and is unlikely to become so in the future. We therefore think that Dorchester Town Council should be given more power and resources over the local facilities which serve their residents such as planning, libraries, education, tourism and sports.
Thank you for your comments. Please could you kindly give your feedback on on our survey questionnaire when the consultation starts on Thursday 5 August. It will be available via a link on this webpage: http://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/community-governance-review. I will also make a note to send you the link on Thursday. Many thanks, Claire.
This is a good time to consider the future of town and parish councils. Integration of all council assets and services would seem to be the way forward. Not only does a ‘one stop shop’ make good economic sense but it would help both residents and visitors by providing a single authority.