Have your say on a new Town Council for Stafford.

A town or parish council is an elected body made up of local people representing the interests of their community. They are the most local branch of local government, closest to the electorate.

They can provide views about planning applications which affect the Parish, organise local community events, alert the Borough Council to any problems which may arise or works which need to be undertaken and, in some cases, provide a number of services such as managing local facilities and community areas.

The only difference between a town and parish council is a town council wants to be known as that and will usually have a Mayor rather than a Chairperson.

Creating new parish / town councils in areas which do not have one

There is no requirement for an area to be parished.

The principal council can look at whether alternative forms of local governance would be more suitable for an area such as area committees or community forums.

How town and parish councils are funded

They are funded through a sum of money called a “precept”. This is a separate charge which is added to, and collected along with, your existing Council Tax. 

They decide what its budget need is for the coming year and that depends on what services and facilities are needed by the local community.

We do not have any power to set the precept for Town and Parish Councils. Additionally, the Review does not allow us to consider the precept when making recommendations.

Town and parish councils can also apply for grants and loans.

As the precept will depend on the size of the town and parish council, the services it provides and the number of properties across which it is spread, it is not possible to say how much a precept would be for an area which does not currently have a town or parish council.

See examples of Parish Precepts (pdf 96kb).

Current Stafford Town Borough Wards

We are currently undertaking a Community Governance Review to decide whether there should be a new Town Council for Stafford.

This map shows the borough ward boundaries relating to the Community Governance Review:

In 2005, most of the borough ward of Doxey and Castletown was parished and Doxey Parish Council was established (with an electorate of 2275).

The unparished area of Stafford has 47,026 electors and for borough electoral purposes is split into 12 wards, represented by a total of 19 councillors.

See the number of electors, and number of borough councillors for each ward:

The unparished areas of Stafford Town immediately adjoin the parished areas of Hyde Lea, Doxey, Seighford, Creswell, Hopton and Coton, Tixall and Berkswich.