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Community Governance Review 2025
We have decided to complete a Community Governance Review (CGR), which was agreed at a meeting of Full Council.
About CGRs
A CGR looks at the community governance arrangements in the area to determine whether they are working for the residents, or if they should change. They deal with very local forms of governance, like parish-tier councils or community and neighbourhood associations.
We normally carry out a CGR every 10 to 15 years. There was a review of the whole of Chelmsford in 2021/22, but a lot has changed since then.
Why we are carrying out a CGR
The announcement of Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) will see the abolition of Chelmsford City Council, as well all of the other district tier councils and Essex County Council. They will be replaced by fewer, larger authorities that combine the services that are currently delivered by the two tiers of local government. Chelmsford will merge with some of our neighbouring councils to form one large council. You can find out more about LGR.
There is a risk that local voices and community identities may not be heard or represented in larger and more diverse authorities.
In Chelmsford, most of our residents are served at a local level by a parish-tier council, and there are currently 28 parish-tier councils in Chelmsford. However, the city centre currently does not have this local representation. Therefore, the focus of this review is to find out if residents would like to change that.
About the consultation process
This CGR will have two stages of consultation.
The first stage, which runs from October to January, is a broader consultation where we want to hear your suggestions about what would work for your area.
Based on your feedback, we will then come up with some proposals for what we might do.
In the second stage in mid-2026, you can feed back specifically on those proposals, before we make any decisions.
The currently unparished area, which has a population of around 51,000 people, is the main concern of this review. We want to ensure that your voice is heard, now and in the future.
Options for community governance
There are several grassroots organisations that could be introduced to give residents a greater say over local matters. These are called 'forms of community governance'.
Parish-tier councils (our preferred option)
These are democratically elected local councils with formal powers and responsibilities.
In other parts of Chelmsford, parish-tier councils are consulted in local decision making. They also run services such as community centres, allotments and some parks. In the city centre, these services are currently run by Chelmsford City Council.
Parish-tier councils are funded through part of your Council Tax and by grants and charges. Band D properties in Chelmsford pay £2,206.98 in Council Tax, of which an average of £51.38 goes to parish/town councils. This amount varies between parishes, ranging from £21.87 to £167.13. Where a new parish-tier council is created, the actual charge will be set by the elected parish councillors.
We believe that a parish-tier council may be the best option for the area. This is because it allows more localised decision making, and gives power to community voices, which could otherwise be muted when Chelmsford City Council is replaced by a larger council.
If you would like to be part of a parish-tier council, we also want your help in understanding the identity of that council. There is no limit on the geographical or population size of a parish-tier council. We could create a single council that serves the whole of the area, or create smaller councils if clear community boundaries are present.
Joining an existing parish
If you live on the edge of the city centre, you may even already feel part of an existing parish that is very close to you. If you do, we can reconsider the boundaries of existing parish-tier councils.
Area committees
These are formed by groups of councillors from a ‘bigger’ council. By the time changes are made, this will be the new unitary council that Chelmsford City Council merges into. Residents could attend the meetings to raise issues with and ask questions of the committee. They are funded by the unitary council.
We do not currently have any area committees in Chelmsford. They would meet to discuss and manage an agreed budget relating to matters specific to their local area.
Neighbourhood forums
These are community-led groups involved in shaping policies. The unitary council might consult with them on upcoming plans and initiatives, and sometimes unitary councillors can be members of the forum. They are mostly self-funded, but can receive grants and support from the unitary council or government.
There are no formal associations that we are currently aware of or engaged with in Chelmsford. They increase participation and consultation, aiming to influence decision making, rather than having powers to implement services.
Neighbourhood or community associations
Membership of these groups is open to everyone in the area. They organise local activities and represent community interests and may have a community centre or hall as a base for their activities. They are largely self-funded, but as above, can receive help.
There are no formal associations that we are currently aware of or engaged with in Chelmsford. An effective neighbourhood or community association should follow a model constitution, as outlined by the charity commission.
Residents’ associations
These can be set up by any group of local people. They choose how they are represented and what their goals are. They are largely self-funded, but can receive grants and support from the unitary council or government.
There are no formal associations that we are currently aware of or engaged with in Chelmsford.
Your decision
All of these options are available to you, and it is important to us to hear your views.
If your feedback tells us that residents are happy with the current arrangements at this level, we can leave them as they are. This would mean that Chelmsford City Council continues to represent the residents of the area at this local level and then any responsibilities or services are then transferred to the new council when Chelmsford is abolished.
As we carried out a full review of the parishes in Chelmsford in 2021/22, we have limited this review to include only the parish areas that share a boundary with the currently unparished area, to accommodate any boundary changes.
The parish area affected are:
- Broomfield
- Chelmer
- Chignal
- Galleywood
- Great Baddow
- Margaretting
- Springfield
- Stock
- Writtle
This review cannot consider changes for any of the other parish areas in Chelmsford.
Although we are not recommending any changes to these parished areas at this stage, we are open to any suggestions and will explore any that have strong public support.
A CGR can consider the following changes for a parish-tier councils:
- Boundaries. We can make the area bigger or smaller, but residents in the area affected must support the change.
- Warding and grouping. Some parish-tier councils are divided into wards, mostly in councils with lots of residents, or a clear geographical divide. Alternatively, two or more (normally smaller) councils can decide to merge. This helps preserve community identity, but they can share services and costs. This review can introduce or remove warding or merging of councils.
- Name. If you think that the name of your council no longer reflects the community it represents, we can update it.
- Number of Councillors. There is are no set rules about how many Councillors each council should have, but there are guidelines, If you think that your council would be better able to serve the residents with more or less Councillors, tell us why and we can change it.
- Abolition. If you don't think that your area should have a parish-tier council and you think it should be abolished, it is an option. However, this can only happen if there is clear and sustained local support for abolition.
There are also some things that are outside the scope of this review.
The CGR:
- can’t change the number of councillors on, or boundaries of, Chelmsford City or Essex County Councils, which are decided by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.
- can’t change parliamentary boundaries, which are decided by the Boundary Commission for England.
- can’t influence or change the outcome of local government reorganisation (merging councils). Central government will decide this, but they will be consulting residents to hear their views.
- can’t influence or change the amount of money any existing or future councils raise through Council Tax. These are set by the individual authorities.
- can’t choose what powers or responsibilities the new unitary council delegates to parish-tier councils. This will be negotiated between the new unitary authority and parish-tier councils.
You can find out if you are affected by these changes by viewing a map of Chelmsford.
You can navigate to the layer list to apply and remove electoral boundaries.
You can also look up your address to see if you live in a parished area or unparished area.
Nothing selected yet or no results.
This review isn’t about local government reorganisation (LGR), which is a separate matter. The government is making the final decision on LGR, rather than councils.
However, it is a big change that’s happening at the same time, so it might help you respond if you know the options.
These are the proposals for new unitary councils that contain Chelmsford.
Three unitaries
- Number of new councils
- Three unitaries
- Proposed by
- Essex County Council
- Chelmsford would merge with...
- Brentwood, Maldon, Epping Forest and Harlow
- Population size
- 564,000
Four unitaries
- Number of new councils
- Four unitaries
- Proposed by
- Thurrock Council
- Chelmsford would merge with...
- Braintree and Uttlesford
- Population size
- 439,000
Four unitaries
- Number of new councils
- Four unitaries
- Proposed by
- Rochford District Council
- Chelmsford would merge with...
- Brentwood, Maldon and Rochford
- Population size
- 420,000
Five unitaries
- Number of new councils
- Five unitaries
- Proposed by
- All other councils in Essex
- Chelmsford would merge with...
- Brentwood and Maldon
- Population size
- 332,000
Number of new councils | Proposed by | Chelmsford would merge with... | Population size |
---|---|---|---|
Three unitaries | Essex County Council | Brentwood, Maldon, Epping Forest and Harlow | 564,000 |
Four unitaries | Thurrock Council | Braintree and Uttlesford | 439,000 |
Four unitaries | Rochford District Council | Brentwood, Maldon and Rochford | 420,000 |
Five unitaries | All other councils in Essex | Brentwood and Maldon | 332,000 |
The government might choose one of these, or do something different.
You can find out more about the LGR proposals.
- 4 January 2026: First consultation period closes
- January to May 2026: Review comments and draft recommendations
- July to October 2026: Second consultation period
- October to November 2026: Final recommendations made
- Early December 2026: Full Council considers final recommendations
- April 2027: Community Governance Order takes effect. Any new parish-tier councils will now exist
- May 2027: Elections for those councils
The initial round of consultation will close on Sunday 4 January 2026.
We will publish all responses as part of the review, but we will remove your personal details first. This includes any identifying information contained in any general comments.
You can view the Privacy notice for Community Governance Review.