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Mid Suffolk District Council has been undertaking a Community Governance Review of parishes, towns, and unparished areas in the districts, which started in March 2022.
Two electoral arrangements are currently under stage two consultation:
As Council have adopted both recommendations of the Working Group individually. The Council's final recommendations are now open to the public for final comments, to arrive at full Council for agreement in August.
We invite you to submit your final comments:
By Emailing: cgr@baberghmidsuffolk.gov.uk
By Post -
Babergh & Mid Suffolk District Councils
Electoral Services
Community Governance
Endeavour House
8 Russell Road
Ipswich
IP1 2BX
We received 140 responses, of which for question one 88.57% agreed with the draft recommendation and 5.78% disagreed, with the remainder of responses saying they were unsure, left blank, or another option. For question two 46.43% agreed with the draft recommendations, 5.00% disagreed, 45.71% left the question blank and 2.86% were unsure.
The Working Group have agreed upon their final recommendations which arrived at Council on Wednesday 20 March.
The Report and supporting documents that were presented can be found on the published agenda here.
We received 848 responses, of which 73% agreed with the draft recommendation and 17.33% disagreed, with the remainder of responses saying they were unsure, left blank, or another option.
The final recommendations arrived at the full Council meeting on Wednesday 22 May 2024.
The Report and supporting documents that were presented can be found on the published agenda here.
For the Onehouse and Stowmarket Community Governance Review, Mid Suffolk District Council heard representations from Onehouse Parish Council and Stowmarket Town Council, debated the matter before having agreed to adopt the final recommendations of the Working Group at its meeting on 22 May 2024. They are now published for a Final Comments period. This will be brought back to full Council with any final comments, for agreement.
For Battisford and Combs, where both parish councils are broadly in agreement with the proposals, Mid Suffolk District Council has agreed to adopt the final recommendations at its meeting on 20 March 2024, and are now published for a Final Comment Period. This will be brought back to full Council with any final comments, for agreement.
Initial consultations were held across Mid Suffolk from April to May 2022, and Stage One of the review was completed at the beginning of 2023.
As these boundaries and electoral arrangements were put in place following reviews carried out the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) and agreed by Parliament, it is beyond the legal power of the Council to make any changes without the agreement of the LGBCE and because of this (and the requirement for further consultation on the Onehouse and Stowmarket, and Battisford and Combs electoral arrangements) the Community Governance Review must be continued into a second stage.
To ensure effective consultation, Mid Suffolk District Council sent out an information pack to households within the affected areas.
Residents and organisations within Onehouse and Stowmarket, and Battisford and Combs areas of the district made a representation between 10 November 2023 and 10 January 2024.
The Council invited comments from all residents, particularly those disabled residents and those from diverse and underrepresented communities and organisations, regarding the Community Governance Review Draft Recommendations published on 26 October 2023.
Representations were encouraged to refer to the Terms of Reference when commenting on the draft recommendations.
The recommendations that we sought your opinions on, are:
The Council is asked to decline the request for the Union Road Development and Areas A, B and C to become part of Stowmarket and for boundaries to remain as they currently are – no change.
Reasons:
The recommendations that we sought your opinions on, are:
Draft Recommendations:
Reasons:
The terms of reference are also available for inspection by appointment at Endeavour House, 8 Russell Road, Ipswich, IP1 2BX.
Open the Community Governance Review consultation survey for Onehouse and Stowmarket
Open the Community Governance Review consultation survey for Battisford and Combs
Download the Battisford and Combs Poster
Download the Onehouse and Stowmarket Poster
View the Mid Suffolk District Council Community Governance Review Notice
The Mid Suffolk (Badwell Ash and Long Thurlow, Fressingfield, Thurston) Order - 21st September 2023
The Mid Suffolk (Baylham) Order - 14th September 2023
Copies of published orders are available for inspection by appointment at Endeavour House, 8 Russell Road, Ipswich, IP1 2BX.
Action | Timeline | Details |
---|---|---|
Stage One Timeline | ||
Report to Full Council | March 2022 | Council approves the principle of the Community Governance Review and its terms of reference |
Publish terms of reference | 30 March 2022 | Publish terms of reference and notify stakeholders of the commencement of the Review |
Prepare draft consultation document and invite initial submissions | April to May 2022 | Initial submissions invited from:
|
Deadline for initial submissions | 27 May 2022 | |
Consider submissions | May to June 2022 | Consider any submissions received by the elections team and prepare a report with informed draft recommendations |
Publish draft recommendations | October 2022 | |
Make final recommendations | December 2022 | Consider any further final submissions and prepare a report with the final recommendations |
Stage Two Timeline | ||
Recommendation to extend the Community Governance Review by the Monitoring Officer | January 2023 | Council approves an extension to the Community Governance Review |
Update to the Terms of Reference authorised by the Working Group | April 2023 | Update to the Terms of Reference to specify the update to the timetable and the specific issues to be considered at stage two of the review. |
Publish the updated Terms of Reference | May 2023 | Publish Terms of Reference and notify stakeholders of the commencement of stage two of the Review. |
Prepare draft consultation document and invite initial submissions | June to July 2023 | Initial submissions invited from:
|
Consider submissions | August 2023 | The Community Governance Review Working Group consider submissions/representations and prepare report of draft recommendations |
Draft recommendations to be considered by Council and approved for further consultation | 26 October 2023 | Draft recommendations to be considered by Council and approved for further consideration |
Publish draft recommendations for further consultation | 10 November 2023 to 10 January 2024 | Consultation with stakeholders on draft recommendations. Final recommendations prepared. |
Consider submissions | January 2024 | CGR Working Group to consider submissions/representations and prepare final recommendations for report to Full Council |
Publish further consultation report and Working Group final report | March 2024 | In advance of the final recommendations the results of the consultation to be released to interested stakeholders. |
Council to either adopt Working Group recommendations or an alternative for the Battisford and Combs CGR | 20 March 2024 | Adoption entails final recommendations are published for final consultation before returning to Council to be approved. New recommendations entail a third consultation period preceding the above. |
Council to either adopt Working Group Recommendations or an alternative for Onehouse and Stowmarket | 25 April 2024 | Town and Parish Councils to make representation. Adoption entails final recommendations are published for final consultation before returning to Council to be approved. New recommendations entail a third consultation period preceding the above. |
Third consultation period | June-August 2024 | This period is only necessary if Council recommendations differ from the Working Group's recommendations. |
Final recommendations publish period | From Council adaption(s) until next Council Meeting | Publish final recommendations and allow for a period of time for any final comments from stakeholders |
Council approves of recommendations | Following the publish period(s) | |
Make re-organisation order | As soon as practicable after Council approval | As necessary. A recommendation for no change entails no order. |
A community governance review is a legal process that provides an opportunity for principal councils to review and make changes to community governance within their areas. It involves consulting those living in the area and other interested parties and making sure they have a say in how their local communities are represented.
The Review can consider one or more of the following options:
The Review cannot:
It is good practice to carry out a Community Governance Review every 10-15 years. However, as the principal authority, Mid Suffolk Council may schedule a review in response to a reasonable request from an individual, group or parish or following the receipt of a valid petition containing the sufficient number of signatures required to trigger a review.
Read more about the review process
You may also email the Community Governance Review team if you have further questions
Legislation requires that the council must ensure that community governance within the area:
In considering proposals for change, the council will take the following into account:
Parish and Town councils are the first level of local government.
Mid Suffolk hosts 95 Parish Councils and 20 Parish Meetings.
Parish councils have relatively few statutory functions (things they have to do). The statutory functions are, for example, the holding of meetings, the management of its finances and the preparation of annual accounts. A parish council employs staff, owns and manages premises, and provides services.
Residents of the parished area elect parish councillors. They represent residents and their interests and councillors will make most of the decisions about what a parish council does in meetings. Although the public has a right to attend meetings of a parish council and its committees, it is the councillors who collectively make decisions about council business and what services or facilities it provides.
The parish council must carefully budget for the expenditure it will have to pay in the next financial year. A parish council may generate income from money from rents from premises that it leases or licences for use by others, or from the services or facilities it provides, for example sports facilities, off-street carparks. It may also receive grants for certain projects. The main source of income derives from the precept levied on the residents in its area. The precept is incorporated into a local resident’s council tax bill.
Although parish councils have few statutory functions or duties, there are many things they can do if they choose. What they choose to do will depend on the needs of the local community they serve. They have the discretion to exercise a range of statutory powers related to the provision or support of certain services or facilities which benefit their area, and/or the residents that live there. Examples might include sports facilities, allotments, local youth projects, bus shelters, litter bins, off street carparks, community centres, parks and open spaces, community transport schemes, neighbourhood planning, crime reduction measures, street lighting, festivals and fetes, traffic calming measures and tourism activities.
No, they both have the same statutory powers and can provide the same services. The only differences are that a town council has decided that it should be known as a town council instead of a parish council, and a town council usually has a mayor. Since 2007 the alternative terms community, neighbourhood or village council can also be adopted, but there is also no difference in their powers.