Community Governance Review for Grantham

South Kesteven District Council has concluded a Community Governance Review for Grantham.

Background

In September 2021, South Kesteven District Council resolved to undertake a Community Governance Review for Grantham to determine:

·         If a new parish or town council should be set up to represent Grantham

·         If the new parish or town council for Grantham is created, where the administrative external boundary of the new council should be drawn

·         If a new town or parish council is created, how it should be divided into wards for the purposes of electing councillors, how many councillors there should be and when the first election will take place

A key part of the Community Governance review process is consultation.

The Grantham Community Governance Review flowchart shows the timeline of the review process which began in 2021.

Terminology - Parish/Town Council

It is not open to the District Council to designate an area as a Town Council.  Any new council created, would initially be named as a Parish Council, eg, Grantham Parish Council.  Section 245 of the Local Government Act 1972 provides the adoption of the name of Town would be a matter for the new Parish Council to resolve.

It is widely understood that a Parish Council for Grantham would choose to be known as a Town Council and it would fall to the new Parish Council to resolve to have the status of a town and adopt the name of Town Council.

Outcome of the Review 

The final recommendations were considered by councillors at the meeting of Full Council held on 23 November 2023. The decision made by Full Council approved the establishment of a new Parish Council for Grantham based upon the following principles:

  • The boundary for the new Parish Council for Grantham replicates the existing unparished area of Grantham
  • The warding arrangements replicate existing District Council Wards - Map of Grantham Parish Council Ward Boundaries
  • The size of the new Parish Council for Grantham will consist of 22 Councillors, comprising 4 Councillors for St Vincent's Ward and 3 Councillors for all remaining Wards.
  • The first elections to the new Parish Council for Grantham be held on 2 May 2024.

Details of the report and accompanying documents considered at the meeting held on 23 November are available here.

The reorganisation Order made on 29 November 2023 is available below :

The South Kesteven District Council (Reorganisation of Community Governance) (Grantham Parish) Order 2023

View map of the new Grantham Parish area and wards

Final Recommendations

Feedback from the Stage 2 Consultation on the Draft Recommendations has been used to inform the final recommendations with respect to the creation of a Parish Council for Grantham.  The results of the consultation were considered by the Community Governance Review Working Group (CGRWG) on 13 November 2023.  The report considered at the meeting is available here. 

The final recommendations were considered by councillors at the meeting of Full Council on 23 November 2023.  The report and accompanying documents considered at this meeting can be viewed here.

Results of Stage 2 Consultation on Draft Recommendations

Stage 2 Consultation Results Report

Stage 2 Consultation Responses

Draft Recommendations 

The draft recommendations, agreed by full Council in March 2023,  formally proposed that a Town Council for Grantham is established based on the following principles, and commenced with the second stage of formal consultation. They are:

  1. the proposed boundary for the new Town Council for Grantham replicates the existing unparished area of Grantham
  2. the proposed warding arrangements for the new Town Council for Grantham replicate existing District Council Wards -  Map of Proposed Ward Boundaries
  3. That the size of the new Town Council for Grantham consists of 22 councillors, comprising four councillors for the St Vincent's Ward and three councillors for all remaining Wards.
  4. That the new Parish be named 'Grantham Parish' and that a Town Council be established to serve the new Parish with effect from 1 May 2024.
  5. That the first elections to the new Town Council for Grantham be held on the ordinary day of elections (the first Thursday in May) in 2024.

The draft recommendations were subject to a period of consultation for six weeks from 26 June to 7  August 2023.  Feedback from this consultation were considered by the Community Governance Review Working Group on 13 November 2023.

Full details of the Draft Recommendations can be viewed in our Draft Recommendations Stage 2 Consultation Document

Previous Consultations

The review commenced on 27 January 2022 with the first round of public consultation running from 11 March to 22 April 2022.   Householders living in the currently unparished ara of Grantham and each of the six parishes adjacent were asked their opinion for the creation of a parish or town council for Grantham.  The Community Governance Review Working Group, made up of the councillors representing Grantham District wards, considered the feedback received during this first stage of consultation at a meeting held on 29 April 2022 and made recommendations on the next steps of the review. At the meeting of full Council held on 26 May 2022, councillors agreed in principle to establish a Town Council for Grantham.

 This was followed by a further targeted consultation to consider the boundary of the new parish/town council with residents in the parts of the parishes of Belton and Manthorpe, Great Gonerby and Londonthorpe & Harrowby Without which are also located within Grantham District Ward boundaries.  This additional part of the stage one consultation ran from 21 November to 19 December 2022.  

Following the completion of the consultation to establish a proposed boundary, the Community Governance Review Working Group met on Wednesday 1 February 2023 to consider the results and make recommendations on the draft proposals. This included recommending the boundary of the proposed new council, year of election, the number of councillors, together with the number, boundaries and names of wards. The report considered at the meeting and the minutes are available here

The draft proposals of the Working Group were submitted and approved by full Council on 1 March 2023. The report considered at the meeting and the minutes are available here

Details of the results of these stages of consultation together with associated documents can be found below.

Because an additional phase of consultation was required to establish the boundary for a new parish/town council for Grantham, the timeline for the review has been reconsidered by the Working Group and revised accordingly.  A revised Terms of Reference is available Terms of Reference (updated February 2023)

Further information and documents, including the terms of reference can be found below:

Stage 1 Consultation Results and Documents

Householders living in the currently unparished area of Grantham and each of the six parishes adjacent were asked for their opinion on the proposal for the creation of a parish or town council for Grantham during a six-week consultation. This ran from 11 March to 22 April 2022. 

The Community Governance Review Working Group (CGRWG), made up of the councillors representing Grantham District wards, considered the feedback received during the first stage of consultation and made recommendations on the next steps of the review.   The minutes of the meetings of the Working Group can be viewed here

At the meeting of full Council on 26 May 2022, South Kesteven District Council agreed in principle to the recommendation made by the CGRWG which was to establish a Parish Council for Grantham, subject to undertaking further consultation to consider the boundary.  The report considered by Council on 26 May 2022 can be viewed here.

This decision was informed by consultation undertaken with those living in Grantham and surrounding parishes, which showed strong support for the creation of a new town/parish council. Two thirds of respondents (974 or 66.2%) were in favour.

Results of Stage 1 Consultation:

Stage 1 Consultation Documents:

Stage 1 Further Consultation on Boundary with neighbouring Parishes

The Community Governance Review process requires that SKDC determines where the boundaries of the new town/parish council should be drawn.

When the Boundary Commission for England reviewed ward boundaries in 2015, a small proportion of the households in three of the parishes adjacent to Grantham - Great Gonerby, Londonthorpe & Harrowby Without and Belton & Manthorpe - were included within one of Grantham's district wards. This means the people who live in these properties are represented by Grantham District Councillors - but are also part of a parish for administrative purposes.

Prior to making any recommendation about where the boundary of the new parish/town council should be drawn, the Council wanted to establish if those living in these areas were happy with this arrangement, or if they would prefer parish and ward boundaries to be realigned so that they are in line with each other. Households in the areas affected were contacted directly to find out what they think. Two drop in sessions were held for residents to ask questions and seek points of clarification.  The three parish councils were also consulted as part of this stage of the process.

This four-week phase of consultation closed on 19 December 2022.

Just under four hundred households from the three parish areas were contacted. 85 responses were received - an overall response rate of 22.5%. Three quarters of respondents (64 or 75.3%) wanted to remain part of the parish where their household is currently located for administrative purposes.

Results of Stage 1 Additional Boundary Consultation:

Stage 1 Additional Boundary Consultation Documents:

Terms of Reference and Notice of Review

Was this page useful?

A-Z of Services

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z