About the Community Governance Review 2025 and what it covers
The Community Governance Review will look at:
- creating, merging, changing, or removing parishes
- naming parishes and choosing their style (e.g., village, community)
- deciding how many councillors each parish should have
- grouping small parishes together under one council if needed
This is your chance to have your say on how your local community is represented as part of the democratic process.
Everyone in Central Bedfordshire pays the same council tax for Central Bedfordshire Council, Police and Fire and Rescue Services but the amount you pay for your local parish and town council can vary. Each town and parish council sets its own council tax (called a precept).
Should changes in boundaries occur as a result of this review, there could be a financial implication as the council tax for neighbouring towns and parishes may not be the same.
Why is this review important?
Reviews like this one aim to give consideration to the extent to which town and parish boundaries should match new housing developments. It also seeks to ensure fair representation (some councils have too many or too few councillors). It can also help support small parishes that struggle to find enough councillors as well as reflect the identity and needs of local communities.
What defines a parish?
Parishes should reflect the community with a shared identity. It should be financially viable (able to raise enough money to operate) with boundaries that make sense. Natural or man-made features like rivers or roads can help define them. A parish area isn’t just about the schools the children go to or the shops that they go to for their weekly groceries. A community identity is about the specific area and group of residents that have a sense of belonging in the location in which they live. Definitions are more than words and numbers, it’s community belonging, feeling and history.
What about small parishes?
Parishes with fewer than 150 voters can’t have their own council. These can be grouped with nearby parishes to form a joint council. There are 8 small parishes in Central Bedfordshire.
Naming and styles
Parishes can be called a “community,” “neighbourhood,” or “village” instead of “parish.” The name should reflect local history or identity. Combined names are discouraged unless there’s a strong reason for doing so.
Electoral arrangements
The review also looks at things like:
- when elections are held
- how many councillors there should be
- whether the parish should be divided into wards, for example if the area is large. Warding a parish enables better representation of the varied communities in the parish as each ward would have its own elected representatives
- the names and boundaries of those wards
Forming a parish council
There are a few rules around how and when a parish council is formed. Generally, if there are:
- 1,000+ voters: a council must be created
- 151–999 voters: a council may be created
- fewer are 150 or fewer: a council cannot be created
The boundaries of most parishes make sense; they represent clear community or geographical boundaries. However, there are some areas with unusual boundaries. For example, residents who live on the same street may belong to different parishes and therefore pay different amounts of council tax, as parishes can set their own precept (parish council tax).
Creating new parishes might help to better reflect an area that has grown. Some parishes may believe it is appropriate to merge with another parish or parishes. The merged parishes would then have a joint parish council but retain their existing parish boundaries with a specific number of councillors from each parish.
It might be sensible for very small parishes to group together to share resources. For example, parishes with fewer than 150 electors are too small to form a single parish council. However, grouping with others could add up to 150 electors or more and therefore form a collective parish council.
In some instances, the review may also present the opportunity to reduce or increase the number of councillors to better reflect the local population. In some parishes, particularly smaller ones, where they have not been able to attract sufficient candidates to stand for election, this has led to uncontested elections and/or a need to co-opt or invite members to fill vacancies.
There may be a need to split boundaries into parish wards where an area is large and/or diverse. Warding a parish would enable better representation of the varied communities in the parish as each ward would have its own elected representatives.
How much would a new parish or town council charge?
As the precept (parish council tax) will depend on the size of the town, parish or community 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, parish or community council.
Any new council would be able to set its own level and these existing charges can only give an indication.
Most Parish councils levy what is known as a precept to cover their costs. Once it is known how much money a parish council wants to raise in a given financial year this amount is apportioned to individual properties based on their council tax banding. The apportionment varies from parish to parish so it is highly likely that your council tax will change if your property moves into a different parish.
It is not possible to say what future charges will be, nor is it possible to predict the effect of the Community Governance proposals on these parish precepts. Town and Parish Council Precepts are agreed annually, and would be subject to review, depending on outcome of this Community Governance Review.
Find further information about current Council Tax bands and charges.
How many councillors?
At least 5 are required, but currently there’s no maximum number. The number should reflect the size of the population and expected growth. For example, bigger towns and parishes have more councillors, smaller ones have fewer. This can be seen in each individual council’s terms of reference depending on where you live in Central Bedfordshire.
Across the area of Central Bedfordshire, the average representation is 1 seat to 331 electors.