Why a Cheshire town wants fewer councillors

With around 10,000 parish and town councils across England, more than 100,000 local councillors represent them.

But one in Cheshire could have fewer councillors after residents backed plans to reduce its size, in a move one former mayor described as "quite sensible".

Frodsham Town Council (FTC) currently has 16 councillors, but that could be reduced to 12 if plans are approved by Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC).

The proposal follows a request by FTC for CWAC to review how the town council is run, although the council has since voted to oppose the change.

A former mayor of the town, Christine Lloyd, said the proposal seemed like a "good idea".

Christine and her husband Brian know a lot about town councils, having served as councillors and mayors.

Speaking in Frodsham's town centre, Christine said the plans were "quite sensible".

"People aren't coming forward and to make a quorum of how they have to do it, it's difficult to get things through," she said.

Brian said he was not sure if any changes would make a difference and preferred the way the council operated during his time in office.

He said when he was first elected, a fellow councillor told him there was "no room for hard politics".

"He was absolutely right," Brian said.

"He said, 'how can you get political over hanging baskets and Christmas lights?'. He was right and I stuck to that."

Anne Caulfield said she did not believe reducing the number of councillors "would make a great deal of difference".

"I think if they've got enough about them, with 12 councillors you can still do the same sort of thing 16 councillors could do," she said.

Another shopper said she liked the work of the town council, particularly a Christmas voucher scheme for residents aged over 70, and thought having fewer councillors could work.

"I think 12 is enough, because I've been on committees for a long time, it's hard to get everyone to agree," she said.

The National Association of Local Councils says there are around 10,000 parish and town councils across England.

They raise money through a precept, an additional charge collected as part of council tax to pay for local services and facilities.

In Frodsham, the town council raises around £300,000 a year through its precept. It's set at £79.88 for a band D property in 2026-27.

The process has not been straightforward.

Frodsham Town Council initially requested a governance review into reducing the number of councillors from 16 to 12 in September 2025.

Three rounds of consultation have since taken place.

However, the town council has now said it opposes the proposal.

Despite that, the consultation found support among residents for reducing the number of councillors.

In the second stage of consultation, which was sent to every resident in Frodsham, 148 people backed the proposal, while 21 opposed it and 24 said they were unsure.

The other rounds attracted fewer responses, but more respondents still favoured reducing the number of councillors than opposed it.

Feedback from the consultation will be discussed by CWAC councillors on 3 November before a recommendation is made to the full council on whether to approve the changes.

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