A community governance review (CGR) is the process for making changes to town and parish councils, such as changing the number of councillors, amending parish boundaries or altering a parish name.
A CGR can:
- Change boundaries between towns/parishes
- Change existing town/parish Wards, or the creation of wards
- Change the electoral arrangements: the year of elections; the size of the town/parish council; the number of town/parish councillors
- Change the name of a parish
- Create a new town/parish council
- Abolish a parish council
- Change a parish meeting to a parish council, if there are more than 150 electors in the parish
A CGR can't:
- Change district council wards
- Change county division
- Change parliamentary boundaries
A CGR takes around 12 months to complete and involves two stages of consultation with local people and other interested people. The final decision on changes are made by all district councillors, taking into account the consultation responses, legislation and the CGR guidance.
Any changes agreed as part of a CGR usually come in to force at the next full election scheduled for the town/parish concerned (i.e. not a by-election).
If you have any questions about the Community Governance Review process, or would like more information about any of the recent reviews, please contact the Democratic and Elections team:
- by email at democracy@cherwell-dc.gov.uk or
- telephone 01295 221534