Community Governance Review

Community governance reviews can consider changes to parish boundaries, the creation of new community governance arrangement, disbanding or merging parish councils or changes to an existing town or parish council’s membership.

The review provides an opportunity for Cheshire West and Chester Council to make changes to any community governance arrangements within the borough. Such reviews can be undertaken in response to demographic changes such as a rise in population, as a result of significant new housing development, or can be prompted through the presentation of a petition to the Council or request from a Parish Council. 

The Council has started four community governance reviews:

Local Governance Arrangements for Willaston: 

A group of Willaston residents have petitioned Cheshire West and Chester Council to consider the potential creation of new community  governance arrangements for  Willaston. Currently, the area of Willaston is un-parished and has no formally constituted body for the village.

Review of the Council Size for Helsby Parish Council:

Helsby Parish Council has written to the Council advising that it is currently finding it difficult to find people to stand as parish councillors. Helsby Parish is currently divided into three wards:  Helsby Central, Helsby North and Helsby South.  The proposal is to reduce the number of seats on each ward from five to four, thus reducing the total number of parish councillor seats from 15 to 12.

Boundary Review for Churton Parish:

Churton Parish Council has contacted Cheshire West and Chester Council regarding an anomaly with its parish boundary between it and Farndon. Three properties on Marsh Lane, Churton are currently within the Farndon parish but a resident has written to Churton Parish Council and requested a review of parish boundaries so that the three properties in question come under Churton and not Farndon.

Review of Frodsham Town Council’s membership and parish boundaries:

Frodsham Town Council has contacted Cheshire West and Chester Council regarding the numbers of seats it has on its council.  Currently Frodsham parish is divided into four Wards: Waterside, Lakes, Overton & Five Crosses and Castle Park.  Each ward has four seats on it, but the Town Council is finding it harder to find residents who are willing to sit on it.  Therefore, it has requested a review of its wards and seats with a view to reducing both.

As part of the community governance review process, public consultation needs to take place. All properties and stakeholders including local Councillors, and MPs who could be potentially impacted by these community governance reviews have been consulted and invited to contribute to the consultations. The Terms of Reference for each review states that the reviews will be completed by the end of December 2026, in time for any recommendations to come into effect in time for the next scheduled local elections in May 2027.

Councillor Paul Donovan, Cabinet Member for Democracy, Workforce and Communities said: 

“This week is Local Democracy week and Community Governance Reviews and Local Democracy Week are both tools which can enhance community governance and engagement. 

“Community Governance Reviews help to shape how our local communities are governed, whilst Local Democracy week aims to raise awareness and participation in that governance and explore how local decisions are made. Together, they promote more inclusivity, ownership and community pride.   

“I would encourage anyone who could potentially be impacted by any of the current reviews to look at the consultation documents and send us your feedback.”

Community Governance Reviews can help residents feel represented locally by people who understand their issues and can help to create a sense of ownership and community pride. The reviews can also enable residents to have a say in matters affecting their local areas and strengthen their voices.

Consultation documents can be found on the Council’s website. 

Also, for anyone interested in learning more about  local democracy and how the council makes its decisions, visit the Council’s website or email: 

DemocraticServices@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk.

Further information about the community governance reviews please see the Council’s website: 

www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/your-council/community-governance-review 

...or email: 

DemocraticServices@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk