Community Governance Review (CGR)

A Community Governance Review (CGR) is a review carried out by a principal council (in this case Ashford Borough Council) and is used to check whether local arrangements should be changed for town and parish councils.

A CGR can look at the whole or part of an area to consider:

- The creation, merger, alteration of parishes

- The naming and the style of new parishes

- The electoral arrangements for parishes such as the ordinary year of election, council size, wards and numbers of councillors

- The grouping or de-grouping of parishes.

The CGR recommendations must:

- Improve community engagement

- Bring communities closer together

- Create better local democracy

- Result in more effective and convenient services

The law allows us to use a review to assess and make changes to community governance within our area. The government’s website has guidance about CGRs.

Ashford Borough Council is looking at whether its unparished area of the borough should have a town council.

In the biggest shake up of local government in almost 50 years, the Government want us to merge councils across the historic county of Kent to create a number of unitary councils serving roughly 500,000 people each. This is known as Local Government Reorganisation or LGR for short.

From 1 April 2028, the county and borough councils will no longer exist. In the parished areas of the borough there will be two tiers of local government – parish/town councils and a unitary council. In the unparished area of Ashford (which we are reviewing) there will only be one tier – the unitary council.

Ashford is the only area of the borough which has neither a parish nor town council, with all local services currently provided by the borough and county councils. A new town council, serving around 18,500 households, could take on responsibilities such as allotments, open spaces, community schemes and support for tourism. It may also represent the interests of the community on a range of matters.

If a new town council is formed, it is expected that elections could take place in 2027 to align with other parish and town councils.

A town council is the first tier of local government. They are separate elected bodies made up of local people representing the interests of their community. They have the same powers and can provide the same services as a parish council.

They can be the voice of their local community and work with other tiers of government and external organisations to deliver services and improve the quality of life in the area.

Town councils have relatively few statutory functions (things they have to do). The statutory functions are, for example, the holding of meetings, the management of finances and the preparation of annual accounts. A town council employees staff, owns and manages premises and provides services.

A town council has the same powers as a parish council.

Through an extensive range of discretionary powers, which they can choose to exercise, councils like these can provide, maintain and support a variety of important and visible services including:

• allotments, parks and open spaces

• bus shelters and community transport schemes

• community centres and leisure facilities

• crime reduction and community safety measures

• festivals, celebrations and tourism activities

• litter bins, street lighting and street cleaning

A town council, which will be made up of elected councillors, provides an extra voice to represent the community. They provide a point of contact to either help you directly or point you in the right direction.

No, they both have the same powers and can provide the same services. The only differences are that a town council has decided that it should be known as a town council instead of a parish council, and a town council usually has a mayor.

Some of the benefits of having a parish or town council include:

• Community representation - they give residents a stronger voice in local affairs, ensuring their needs and preferences are directly addressed.

• Focused development - they can drive community projects and initiatives tailored to local needs, such as environmental conservation or youth programs.

• Economic advantages - they can attract funding and grants unavailable to larger councils. They can also promote local businesses through initiatives and events, boosting the local economy.

• Improved quality of life - they can work on projects that enhance the quality of life, such as creating green spaces, supporting local sports teams, and organising cultural events.

• Greater accountability - they are closer to their residents, leading to more accountability and transparency in decision-making.

There is lots of information about Town Councils available through the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) Homepage.

Ashford currently has 39 parish councils, 1 town council, 2 community councils and a Parish Meeting in the borough of Ashford. You can find information about them on our website.

Town councils are funded through a sum of money called a ‘precept’.

This is a separate charge which is added to, and collected together with, your Council Tax.

Town councils set their own precept and the amount charged depends on the levels of service they choose to provide.

Town councils are not limited in the amount of precept they can collect.

Yes. There would be an overall increase in your Council Tax arising from the additional overheads and any extra services a parish or town council chooses to deliver. The average Band D precept charged by parish and town councils in 2025/26 is £92.22.

Across the Ashford Borough, the average Band D precept charged by parish and town councils in 2025/26 is £70.00. The lowest precept being £16.53 (Sevington) and the highest being £181.36 (Tenterden).

A town council precept amount depends on the size of the parish or town, the services it provides and the number of properties across which it is spread. It is not possible at this stage to say how much an Ashford precept would be, and it would depend on the services and facilities it wants to provide.