Borough Council Launches Second Stage of Town Council Consultation

Published on: 7 Jan, 2026
Updated on: 7 Jan, 2026

By Martin Giles

Guildford Borough Council is continuing to propose the creation of a new council for the town of Guildford.

There are currently ten wards in Guildford that are not represented by a parish or town council.

In a statement GBC says it is making the proposal “…so that residents across central Guildford have elected parish councillors making decisions about local, parish-level services”.

In a second stage of the council’s ongoing Community Governance Review, households in the currently unparished areas will shortly receive a booklet outlining the draft proposals and asking residents to share their views.

The first consultation, held last summer, was criticised for a lack of clarity of the information provided and questions asked. Of the 1,116 responses received, 58 per cent supported the creation of a new parish council which could then rename itself a town council. GBC is now seeking views on detailed proposals for how it could be set up.

View of Guildford from Bright Hill

What the draft recommendations propose

• Create a parish area called ‘Guildford’ to cover the ten wards that are currently unparished.
• Form ‘Guildford Parish Council’ to serve the parish area.
• Name the ten parish wards the same as the existing ten borough wards.
• Elect 24 councillors to represent the ten wards that make up the parish area.
• Charge a precept (a new increase to the amount of council tax paid by each household) to pay for the running of the parish council and the services it may provide.

Although the new council must initially be set up as a parish council, it could decide to call itself a ‘town council’. It could then have a ceremonial ‘Mayor of Guildford’.

Parish councils set their own precept, which pays for the running of the parish council and the services it provides. The precept for a new Guildford Parish Council is estimated to be between £60 and £100 for a Band D property for the first year. That’s about £5 to £8.34 a month.

To begin with, a new parish council would have responsibilities for things like allotments and representing the community on planning matters. Later it could negotiate with the new unitary authority, landowners and other partners to take on more responsibilities.

If created, the new parish council, GBC says, would have a strong connection to local communities, providing local services and would aim aiming to bridge any gap between residents and the new, much larger, West Surrey unitary authority. After the first parish elections, which could be held in May 2027,  Guildford residents would have the same local representation as people living in all other areas of Guildford Borough.

Cllr Julia McShane

Julia McShane (Lib Dem, Westborough), leader of Guildford Borough Council said: “Parish councils can play a vital part in representing the interests of local people, improving quality of life and the local environment.

“Before making a final recommendation, we want to hear whether our residents agree with our draft proposals to create a new local parish council.”

Eligible residents can complete the survey online from today or wait for the printed brochure and questionnaire. The deadline for responses is midnight on Sunday, March 1 2026.

All the responses will be reviewed and recommendations shared with the Full Council in mid-March. Guildford Borough councillors will make the final decision on whether to set up the new parish council.

For the decision will have to be taken by the end of March if it is not to require approval by the impending West Surrey Unitary Authority, due to be elected in May.

See other articles on town councils here.

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