Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the head of legal and democratic and agree final recommendations on a number of community governance review matters – attached.

The committee considered the head of legal and democratic’s report on eight community governance reviews.  The committee had agreed to undertake the reviews at its meeting in March 2022 and agreed terms of reference on matters submitted by parish councils.  In May, the committee had agreed draft proposals for consultation and agreed revised terms of reference to provide for a longer consultation period and time to analyse the responses. 

Consultation had been carried out on proposals in each of the reviews.  A schedule setting out the detail on each review was attached as a separate agenda item, along with the consultation results, an officer recommendation, and the justification for that recommendation.  The committee was invited to agree the final recommendations for implementation.  The minutes for each review are shown below. 

The committee noted that after it had taken its final decisions on each community governance review, work would commence to make the necessary order to bring the changes into effect in time for the 2023 parish council elections.  This included making applications to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England to make related alteration orders to make district wards and county divisions coterminous with such changes.  In July 2022, Council had authorised the head of legal and democratic, in consultation with the chair of this committee, to submit any such applications to the boundary commission. 

The committee noted that the council was unable to make recommendations on an alternative style of governance for existing parishes.  This was a matter for a parish council to decide.  Therefore, the committee was unable to proceed with the request by North Hinksey Parish Council to change its style of parish from a parish council to a community council. 

RESOLVED: to

(a)       agree final recommendations in relation to each item below in minutes 27 to 34; and

(b)       authorise the head of legal and democratic to make a reorganisation of community governance order to implement the changes agreed. 

To consider the report of the head of legal and democratic and agree final recommendations on a number of community governance review matters – attached.