Residents to be given their own village council

Residents of a Cheshire village have said that creating a new council would allow them to have more of a say about life locally.

Cheshire West and Chester Council approved plans for Willaston to set up a village council after a successful petition from local residents.

Supporters said it would give the village a formal voice and bring people together.

The first councillors will be elected to Willaston Village Council in May, at the same time as other elections taking place across Cheshire.

Residents first petitioned Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWaCC) last April for a parish council, and three stages of consultation subsequently took place.

In the third stage, 222 residents responded, with 85% backing the plans.

It was then approved at a full meeting of CWACC.

Labour's Rachel Waterman said the response had been "excellent" and "demonstrates the strong interest residents have in the shape of their village".

Members of community groups such as Willaston Matters and Your Willaston campaigned in favour of the plans.

Richard Dutton, chair of Your Willaston, said there were issues in the village which the various groups were supporting.

"The village council brings it all together under one roof, particularly from a governance perspective," he said.

"I think one of the things that everybody's conscious of has been the financial pressures that the council's under and therefore being able to have that precept and some funds to do things that may have got lost over the last few years I think is really important," he said.

Local councils have the option to add a precept - an extra charge on council tax bills - to cover their costs.

Paul Clegg said the precept was the "main question" from residents around setting up the new council.

"By having a village council and a precept, it means everybody's involved rather than just a few volunteers," he said.

But is this going to be popular?

Clegg said it was "worth spreading the load amongst everybody" and residents wanted "things to be improved in the village".

Planning is another consideration for some residents.

Local councils are statutory consultees for planning applications in their areas - meaning they are given the opportunity to make representations.

Martin Townley said a local council would "bring that element of governance" into the village around planning applications.

"Housing is a big issue and if these things do go ahead, then at least we'll have the opportunity to negotiate this and make sure the infrastructure is right for the village," he said.

Jackie Weaver, from the Cheshire Association of Local Councils, told BBC Politics North West the move to devolution, with Cheshire and Warrington electing its own mayor next year, had raised more interest in local councils.

"There's a kind of suspicion, waiting to see what the new combined authority is going to be. And that, I think, has created behind it a gap," she said.

Weaver said there might be a "bit of a renaissance" around people wanting their voices heard with the changes.

"Although this is being sold on the basis of it is more local decision-making, I think what people will feel is that actually it's taking decision-making further away from them," she added.

She added that borough councils in the area were looking "more enthusiastically" at transferring assets and services to town and parish councils.

"It is something we've been arguing for for a long time," she explained.

This is happening not only in Cheshire.

Iain Hamilton, chair of the National Association of Local Councils, said four new town councils had been created this year and another 30 are set to launch in the coming 12 months.

"It's a different type of local democracy - it's far more hyper-local," he said.

"We're not talking about statutory services here. We're talking mainly about local assets such as community centres, village halls, green spaces.

"It's all stuff that's focused locally within that area. Sometimes things that are not the hyper focus of a unitary authority who has very limited resources, which has to be spread quite widely.

"And it just enables those local communities to focus on the things that actually matter to them at that local level."

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