Create a council

Local councils are a statuary body that form the first tier of government. There are 10,000 local councils in England representing 30% of the country. Local councils perform an important role giving their communities a voice in areas that affect them. They consist of at least a permanent Clerk, full or part time, and a number of councillors depending on the size of the council who are local residents elected for a period of four years.

How to set up a local council

To establish a local council you need to trigger a Community Governance Review. A Community Governance Review can be triggered either directly by the principal authority themselves or by the community through a petition to the principal authority. Alternatively a Neighbourhood Forum passed by a referendum can itself trigger a Community Governance Review without the need for a petition.

The number of minimum signatures required to trigger a Community Governance Review varies according to the size of the population:

• • Fewer than 500 local government electors, the petition must be signed by at least 37.5% of the electors
• • If there are between 500 and 2500 local government electors the petition must be signed by at least 187 electors
• • If there are more than 2500 local government electors the petition must be signed by at least 37.5% of the electors

There is more information to be found on the NALC website at www.nalc.gov.uk, Create a Council.