FAQs

A Community Governance Review enables a principal council, such as BCP Council, to review, put in place or make changes to local council arrangements; for example, by creating, merging, abolishing or changing parish or town council boundaries.

This review is taking place following a decision made at Full Council on 15 October(External link) 2024. Government guidance advises that a review should be carried out every 10 to 15 years and there has been no full review of Bournemouth and Poole within this period. There was one carried out in Christchurch in 2017-18.

The council believes that local councils (including parish, town, community, neighbourhood and village councils) can play an important role in community empowerment at a local level and wants to ensure that parish governance within the area continues to be robust, representative and is able to meet new challenges. We also want to ensure there is clarity and transparency in the areas that local councils represent and that the electoral arrangements of parishes are appropriate, equal and easy to understand for the public and key stakeholders.

A paper copy of the survey, information document and all the relevant maps can be downloaded on the right-hand side of this page.

You can also collect paper versions of the Stage One documents from any of BCP Council’s libraries. A full list of BCP libraries can be found here(External link).

Please refer to the Polling District and Ward Maps:
(External link)

• Polling districts and wards(External link) - Please make sure you select 'Current Polling Districts' in the top left corner. 
• Parish and parish wards(External link)

All the existing polling districts are listed here.

You can also get paper versions of the maps on request at any of BCP Council’s libraries. 

‘Local councils’ is the collective name for all councils at the first-tier of local government. There are five styles of local council, these being:

1. Town councils
2. Parish councils
3. Community councils
4. Neighbourhood councils
5. Village councils.

They are separate elected bodies made up of local people representing the interests of their community. They can be the voice of the local community and work with other tiers of government and external organisations to co-ordinate and deliver services and work to improve the quality of life in the area.

No, they all have the same statutory powers and can provide the same services. The only difference is that a town council will usually have a mayor.

Any changes to existing parish or town council arrangements will come into force on the same day as the next scheduled normal parish and town council elections in May 2027. However, if any new local councils are established, these will most likely be established in April 2026 with elections held in May 2026.

Local councils are funded through a sum of money called a ‘precept’ – this is a separate charge which is added to, and collected along with, your existing Council Tax. The local council sets its own precept depending on what services and facilities are needed by the local community.

Only after considering the initial ideas and suggestions from the Stage One survey will we be able to determine if there could be any impacts on Council Tax for a particular area. 

Please note that any proposals developed from the Stage One responses will include information about potential impacts for the public and key stakeholders to consider before responding to the consultation in Stage Three.

Local council councillors are not usually paid an allowance but may incur costs which can be reimbursed.

This is a number of parishes that have come together under a common council. Electors of each parish elect a designated number of councillors to the common council. It can be an effective way of ensuring small parishes are more empowered (that might otherwise be unworkable as separate units) and can guarantee their separate community identity. 

If any community groups are holding meetings to discuss possible proposals and would like a council officer to come along to explain more about the process, please email us at cgr@bcpcouncil.gov.uk(External link), and let us know the date, location and time of your meeting.