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Community Governance Review
Parish councils in Dorset Council area
Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007
Terms of Reference
Published on 22 July 2021
1. Introduction
What is a Community Governance Review?
A Community Governance Review is a review of the whole or part of the council’s area to consider one or more of the following:
- creating, merging, altering or abolishing parishes
- the naming of parishes and the style of new parishes
- the electoral arrangements for parishes (the ordinary year of election, council size (the number of councillors to be elected to council), and parish warding); and
- grouping parishes under a common parish council or de-grouping parishes
- other types of local arrangements, including parish meetings
A Community Governance Review is required to take into account:
- the impact of community governance arrangements on community cohesion; and
- the size, population and boundaries of a local community or parish
The council is required to ensure that community governance within the area under review will:
- be reflective of the identities and interests of the community in that area; and
- be effective and convenient
If the council is satisfied that the recommendation of a Community Governance Review would ensure that community governance within the area under review will reflect the identities and interests of the community in that area, and is effective and convenient, the council makes a Community Governance Order.
Why is the council carrying out this Community Governance Review?
The council is required to keep its area under review – every 10-15 years. Following the creation of Dorset Council, and a number of requests from Parishes for a Review, it was deemed appropriate to undertake a Review of the whole principal council area, rather than dealing with review requests piecemeal. A Community Governance Review offers an opportunity to put in place strong, clearly defined boundaries, tied to firm ground features, and remove the many anomalous parish boundaries that may exist.
Scope of the Review
The Review will consider any Community Governance Review requests received following publication of the Terms of Reference.
2. Consultation
How the council proposes to conduct consultations during the Review?
Before making any recommendations or publishing final proposals, the council must consult local government electors for the area under review and any other person or body (including a local authority) which appears to the council to have an interest in the review. The council will therefore:
- publish a Notice and these Terms of Reference on the council’s website and arrange for copies to be available for public inspection at County Hall, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1XJ during normal office hours
- send a copy of the Notice and these Terms of Reference to all parish clerks and to the Dorset Association of Town and Parish councils
- seek to arrange for the notice to be published on parish council websites and notice boards; and
- send a copy of the Notice and these Terms of Reference to all local Members of Parliament
Before making any recommendations, the council will take account of any representations received. The council will publish its recommendations as soon as practicable and take such steps as it considers sufficient to ensure that persons who may be interested in the Community Governance Review are informed of the recommendations and the reasons behind them.
The council will notify each consultee and any other persons or bodies who have made written representations of the outcome of the Review.
3. Timetable for the Community Governance Review
The council has to complete a Community Governance Review within twelve months from the day on which the council publishes the Terms of Reference. A Community Governance Review is concluded on the day on which the council publishes the recommendations made by the Community Governance Review.
Following a decision made at the Full council meeting on 14 December 2021, the timetable for the Review has been adjusted. The updated timetable is shown below.
| Action | Timeline | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Report to Full council | 15 July 2021 | council approves the principle of the Community Governance Review and its Terms of Reference. |
| Publish Terms of Reference | 22 July 2021 (The CGR must be completed within 12 months of the date of publication) |
Publish Terms of Reference and notify stakeholders of the commencement of the Review. |
| Prepare draft consultation document and invite initial submissions | 5 August 2021 to 28 October 2021 (12 weeks) | Initial submissions invited:
|
| Consider submissions/representations and prepare report for Full council | 29 October 2021 to 15 February 2022 | Consider any submissions/representations made and prepare report of draft recommendations for consideration by Full council at its meeting on 15 February 2022. |
| Publish draft recommendations as agreed by Full council, for further public consultation | 28 February 2022 to 23 May 2022 (12 weeks) | Publish draft recommendations as agreed by Full council, for further consultation with:
|
| Consider further submissions/ representations and make final recommendations to Full council | 24 May 2022 to 14 July 2022 | Consider any further submissions/representations and prepare final report of final recommendations for consideration by Full council at its meeting on 14 July 2022. |
Publish final recommendations as agreed by Full council |
July 2022 |
Publish final recommendations as agreed by full council and make Order. |