Please see the below from South Oxfordshire Council:
As a district council we are responsible for reviewing parish arrangements and implementing any appropriate changes to benefit the decision making and community management in the local area. Currently we undertake a community governance review every four years.
Reviews can consider:
- altering the existing boundary of a parish
- creating, merging or abolishing parishes
- changing the name of existing parishes
- the electoral arrangements for parishes (e.g. how many parish councillors are required and parish warding)
- grouping parishes under a common parish council, or de-grouping parishes
- the 'style' of a parish (enabling an area to be known as a town, community, neighbourhood or village rather than a parish)
Have your say
As part of our latest review, we would like to hear your thoughts on proposals to alter the community governance arrangements in:
- Cuddesdon and Denton – remove the current parish warding arrangements
- Henley-on-Thames/Bix - review of parish boundary at Swiss Farm Park Homes currently split between Henley parish and Bix parish
- Sonning Common - increase in the number of parish councillors from 12 to 15
- Thame (Great Haseley) - amending the boundary of the parish to include land up to North Weston, currently in Great Haseley, within Thame parish
- Thame - review of the warding arrangements to provide electoral representational balance between the North and South wards
- Wallingford (Brightwell-cum-Sotwell) - amending the boundary of the parish to include land at Site A, currently in Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, within Wallingford parish
- Didcot - review of the number of councillors elected for each town council ward to reflect the number of electors they represent
You can make comments on the Community Governance Review during the engagement period running from Thursday 31 March to midday on Friday 29 April 2022.
You will have the opportunity to comment on one or more of the proposed changes and upload any supporting documents.
What’s happened so far
In November 2021 we contacted all parish councils across South Oxfordshire asking them to submit requests for matters to be considered as part of a Community Governance Review.
We then collated and presented the responses to the Community Governance and Electoral Issues Committee on 28 February 2022. The committee agreed to consider all requests submitted and formally adopted the Terms of Reference.What happens next?
Once the survey closes, we will collate all responses and present them in a report, alongside other relevant data, to our Community Governance and Electoral Issues Committee. They will consider the responses and then put forward draft proposals for further consultation later this year.
Following a second consultation, the Committee will consider responses and agree whether or not to implement the proposed changes. We expect to carry out the second consultation this summer, with the Committee meeting shortly afterwards to make their decision. We are aiming to implement any changes agreed so that they apply in time for the May 2023 elections. More information is available on our website.
Personal details
If you are responding as an individual, you are not required to provide your name or contact details. If you are responding on behalf of an organisation, agent, council or body, we will ask for its name and this information may be published. For each of the proposals we ask for the first part of your postcode to help us analyse responses; providing this information is optional and will not be published. Any personal information you provide to the councils within your comments that could identify you will not be published. Further information on data protection is available in our privacy policy.
Questions?
If you have any questions on the Community Governance Review, please contact the elections team on [email protected] or call 01235 422528. If you have any questions on the survey or require it in an alternative format (for example large print, Braille, audio, email, Easy Read and alternative languages) please email [email protected] or call 01235 422425.
If you would like us to contact you to invite you to take part in the second stage of consultation, please contact us on [email protected] or call 01235 422528 to provide your contact details.
