Community Governance Review (CGR) – frequently asked questions

What is a Community Governance Review?

A Community Governance Review (CGR) is a way for Canterbury City Council to review local democracy and representation and to ensure arrangements reflect current or emerging community needs and identities This includes consideration of new parish and town councils and whether there needs to be changes to current boundaries.

What is a parish or town council?

There are different levels of local government. These include Kent County Council and Canterbury City Council.

Canterbury City Council provides services such as housing, planning and development control, waste collection, Council Tax billing, environmental health and leisure centres.

Kent County Council handles countywide services such as education, highways and transport, adult social care, libraries, trading standards and strategic planning.

At the moment, local government reorganisation (LGR) is taking place.

This will merge the functions of Kent County Council and Canterbury City Council into a new unitary council.

Parish and town councils are a more local level of local government – they serve smaller communities and provide more local services.

How will representation change under local government reorganisation (LGR)?

Within the Canterbury City Council area, there are three areas that do not have a parish or town council.

These are Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable.

When LGR takes place, the Canterbury City Council councillors and Kent County Council councillors will no longer be in place and will be replaced by new councillors to serve the new larger unitary authority – a council that delivers all of the services in its area unless taken on by a parish or town council.

The current number of councillors serving the unparished areas is given in the table below.

Current unparished area	Current number of Canterbury City Council councillors	Current number of Kent County Council councillors
Canterbury	14	4
Herne Bay	7	5
Whitstable	7

Once the new unitary is in place, there will be fewer councillors.

At this stage, we don’t know how many and this will be decided by the government.

We suspect there are likely to be at least nine.

We expect to know before the second round of CGR consultation starts.

What is the CGR looking at?

The CGR is reviewing whether to create parish or town councils to serve Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable.

At the moment, services that are typically provided by a parish council in the unparished areas are provided by Canterbury City Council.

This includes cemeteries, allotments, parks, public toilets and other facilities. They may also run events.

If a town or parish council is created, then these services could be transferred to the new parish council and residents in the affected areas would be charged for these services through their Council Tax as a precept.

Unlike district or county council Council Tax, a parish or town council precept is not subject to government capping limits.

The CGR can explore whether these geographical areas should have a new parish or town council and decide on how many councillors a new council should have.

Through this CGR we are asking people for their views.

We are also asking existing parish councils in the area if they think any changes are needed to their arrangements.

This is because, since the last time they were reviewed, circumstances have changed – for example through new housebuilding – which may mean some changes to parish council size or boundaries may be needed.

Why are you considering new town councils?

When local government reorganisation (LGR) takes place, some might feel there is a reduction in the level of local representation for the three towns.

If there is no new town council, all the services will be provided by the new unitary authority, which may cover the whole of east Kent, with fewer local representatives in these towns.

If a new town council is created, then local people can represent the towns and deliver services as well as making sure the needs of the towns are heard by the new unitary authority.

This needs to be balanced by the fact this has to be paid for by most residents through an increase in their Council Tax called a precept.

Unlike district or county council Council Tax, a parish or town council precept is not subject to government capping limits.

Some argue it will increase bureaucracy.

But it is really important we hear from the people affected. We want you to tell us if you want a new town council or not and why.

Canterbury City Council councillors can then make an informed decision based on what you tell us.

You asked residents in Whitstable before – why are you asking again?

We held a Community Governance Review a couple of years ago in Whitstable because there was a petition that required us to consider creating a town council.

The response from people was that they didn’t want a new town council – because at the time the community was served by both Canterbury City Council and Kent County Council.

Now things are changing. Both Canterbury City Council and Kent County Council are being abolished and replaced by a single unitary authority.

We want to hear from people to know if this changes your view about having a new town council and local representatives.

How much will the Community Governance Review cost?

We have set aside a pot of money (known as a reserve) of £290,000 which will be drawn upon as needed.

We will only spend what is necessary to complete the review.

What is the process?

The Community Governance Review will have two rounds of public consultation.

In the first, we are asking very broadly about your communities and whether you think changes might be needed for local representation.

We will use the responses from that consultation to develop draft recommendations and we will consult about them (from late September to mid December 2026).

The councillors will use the results from that consultation to decide what changes will be made, if any.

Have you already decided the outcome?

No. The final decision will be made around March 2027 and will use the responses from the consultations to decide the outcome.

No decisions about whether there will be any changes, or what those changes might be, have been made.

Isn’t Local Government Reorganisation about reducing the number of tiers of government, so why create additional layers?

Parish level councils can provide much-valued local representation, particularly when unitary authorities have fewer councillors overall than the two layers they replace.

Where there is support, creating, expanding and reviewing parish and town councils remains an important part of local governance regardless of LGR.

If a new town council is created, it is optional to pay for it?

No, if a town council is formed then you will pay for it as part of your Council Tax.

How do we abolish the town council if we don’t like it?

The processes to create and abolish a town council are the same – a petition calling for a review.

What will the assessment criteria look like?

We will look at the numbers for, against and not sure and, equally as importantly, the reasons why.

The guidance says the council is required to ensure community governance within the area under review will be ‘reflective of the identities and interests of the community in that area’ and should be ‘effective and convenient’.

In doing so the review is required to take into account ‘the impact of community governance arrangements on community cohesion’ and the ‘size, population and boundaries of a local community or parish’.

Who decides whether we have a town council?

The decision will be made at a meeting of the full Canterbury City Council comprising all 39 councillors.

They will be informed by a councillor advisory group whose role is to look at the consultation results and make recommendations to the General Purposes Committee, which is the committee responsible for overseeing such reviews.

Would this be a top up or replace city council funding?

This precept – the amount you would pay for a town council – is extra to the council tax you pay for Canterbury City Council services.

The precept is collected through the annual Council Tax billing process.

Unlike district or county council Council Tax, a parish or town council precept is not subject to government capping limits.

How do we know what the new town council will do?

Each town council operates differently. They have very few statutory duties – things they are required by law to provide.

But they have wide-ranging discretionary powers – services they can choose to deliver within their locality.

Typical services delivered by a town council include allotments, which is one of the few statutory powers, and can also include a range of other services to complement or enhance existing provision, for example:

• bus shelters and community transport
• community centres
• play areas
• crime reduction and community safety measures
• festivals
• open space
• planting and maintenance
• street lighting
• street cleansing

In addition to running specific services, they can act as a voice representing for resident views and bid for external funding to support projects and services.

What the town council does and how much money to spend on each activity will be decided by the elected parish or town councillors, who will work with the unitary council, partners and residents.

What will you come back with in Phase 2? Does Phase 2 need to happen if there is overwhelming support for/against?

The consultation plan is suggesting a two-stage process but we will have to await the results of the first phase before deciding what to include in the second phase.

We’ve been asked if there is a scenario where the second phase might not proceed if the results are overwhelmingly clear one way or the other.

If that were to be the case then councillors have the ability to review and vary the timetable when the results of phase one are reported back.

Will a new town council listen to people and will the councillors be politically affiliated?

The new town council will have elected councillors in the same way as a parish council or the city council.

They are accountable to their electorate.

Anyone can stand to be a town councillor and they can decide whether to stand as an independent or as a party candidate.

Who can have a say?

Everyone is welcome to take part in the consultations.

Will the town council have more influence over planning applications than other local groups that already exist?

A town council would be a statutory consultee for planning applications submitted within its boundary.

Decisions on planning applications would still be made by Canterbury City Council and, after local government reorganisation, by the new unitary council.

How do we know if the town council will be good value for money?

That is a subjective question.

The priorities will be determined by the elected town councillors, working closely with the town clerk and their staff.

It is not possible to prepare ‘cost/benefit’ analysis on a proposal such as this because the potential scope of what it might deliver is broad and one person’s opinion of what represents good value for money differs from another’s.

Will a town council be economically sustainable given the financial pressure that public authorities are under? Isn’t there a high risk that town councils will get into a lot of debt?

The town council will be required to produce a balanced budget each year.

The fact they do not have a large number of statutory responsibilities means that they will have greater discretion about how their money is spent.

Like parishes, town councils can raise money through their precepts which is not subject to government capping limits.

How will you handle the risk that people in support of town councils (or against town councils) may be overrepresented in the feedback?

The consultation is open to anyone to respond. It is not a referendum.

Our approach has been to ensure people have enough information to listen to the arguments, think about them and ask more questions if they arise before making their contribution to the consultation.

Does the town council precept pay for the wages of the town council councillors?

A town council can employ officers who will be paid staff.

Some recruit volunteers to support their work.

A town council has the ability to set allowances for councillors.

All parish councillors in the district are performing their role on a voluntary basis.

Do residents directly decide how town council funds are spent?

Decisions about how town council funds are spent would be decided by the town councillors and the officers.

How a town council decides to consult and reflect the needs of residents will be a matter for those elected to office.

Will people who might struggle to pay the town council charges get a discount on the charges if they don’t qualify for benefits?

The town council precept is collected as part of the Council Tax.

If you are eligible for a council tax discount then this will also be reflected in what you pay in your town council precept.

Where does the initial money come from for a town council?

Canterbury City Council would set the first precept as part of the budget setting process for the next financial year.

The town council sets its own precept in subsequent years and makes its own decision on how much to increase it, decrease it or leave it at the same level.

Unlike district or county council Council Tax, a parish or town council precept is not subject to government capping limits.

The money is paid by the city council to the town council at the start of the financial year and then recovered throughout the year from council tax payments.

Is this about creating new jobs for councillors that may lose their seats?

When enough people stand for a seat, parish and town councillors are elected by residents.

At other times, parish and town councillors can be co-opted.

There is no automatic position provided to existing city or county councillors on a new local council.

If agreed, when would the new town council or town councils come into effect?

If approved, we are aiming for 1 April 2028.

Published: 14 April 2026