Terms of Reference

1. No change option - Await the creation of the new Unitary Authority

HM Government intends that Shadow Unitary Authority elections are held in May 2026. The successor unitary authority, being the future local council for the area of Guildford and surrounds, might be considered well placed to conduct a community governance review of its own to set up community governance arrangements that fit with this successor authority. The Council is aware of the view that it may be legitimate not to provide new forms of community empowerment or community governance at this time given that LGR is proposed to occur rapidly in Surrey.

PROs - Allows the future principal authority to decide the future of local governance. If this option were favoured, this CGR could conclude on that basis and the views expressed by respondents could be conveyed to the successor authority.

CONs - It is unknown whether community governance would be an early priority for a successor unitary authority, though it's thought that community engagement would be.

2. Community empowerment option - Neighbourhood Area Committee

A Neighbourhood Area Committee (NAC) is a formal sub-structure set up by a principal council - e.g. Guildford Borough Council and/or a successor Unitary Council - that would engage with and on behalf of the unparished urban area of Guildford.

Responsibilities could include local planning decisions, street scene matters, public spaces, and community development oversight. NACs are comprised of elected borough councillors and can involve partners too.

PROs - NACs can be quickly established at a comparatively low indirect cost to taxpayers because they do not have the statutory powers and duties that parish councils have. The set-up and operating costs are met by the principal authority, and that authority can choose to delegate certain functions and budgets to the NAC, providing some adaptability.

CONs - If this option were favoured, the principal authority (currently GBC) would have responsibility for the NAC's existence, remit, membership, and funding. A successor principal authority (e.g. a new unitary authority) would inherit this responsibility, and could choose to retain, change, or disband it. So, not necessarily long-term.

3. Community governance option - Create a new parish council or council(s)

The Council notes that what sets parish councils apart from other kinds of community representation and community empowerment is the fact that they are a democratically elected tier of local government with directly elected representatives, independent of other council tiers and budgets, and possessing specific powers for which they are democratically accountable.

PROs - Local parish councils play an important role in terms of community empowerment at a local level, and they do have certain duties and provide some services.

Parish councils have a key role to play in representing the views and promoting the needs of the borough's local communities and neighbourhoods.

CONs - All the funding for their operating costs and most services must be raised in the form of a new charge, known as a precept, payable as a proportion of Council Tax.

There is no limit on the amount that a parish may raise in respect of its precept each year.

What do Parish Councils do?

By way of information, a summary of the general powers and duties of parish councils is attached at Annex 1.

Community governance option. Proposal 1 - A single parish council for Guildford

One proposal is to create a new parish for the entire unparished urban area of Guildford. If this proposal is supported by local people and approved by Guildford Borough Council, the review would then consider recent Electoral Reviews carried out by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE), and in the interest of coterminous boundaries, it would propose that a new parish council for Guildford should replicate the current borough council warding and councillor numbers.

The unparished areas of Guildford are the following current Borough wards:

The map below highlights the unparished urban area of Guildford and the existing borough wards. All other surrounding areas of the borough are parished.

Community governance option. Proposal 2 - Three parish councils for Guildford

A suggestion for the creation of three parishes described as Central, East and West Guildford was sent to the Council earlier this year. This, however, did not as required delineate boundaries by reference to a map, and therefore could not be evaluated.

The CGR can consider submissions for this and any other alternative proposal, only if:

• they are received during the consultation period
• the area(s) to which they relate are clearly defined by reference to a map
• any rationale for, and benefits of the proposal(s) are clearly expressed