Phase one consultation results
This page sets out the headline results from phase one of our public consultation and the next steps for our Community Governance Review.
All responses to phase one of our public consultation will be published with our Draft Recommendations at the end of September.
Public consultation (phase one)
We are running two phases of public consultation:
- Phase one ran from Monday 2 June and closed on Sunday 3 August
- Phase two opens on Monday 22 September and will close on Sunday 23 November
The first phase of our consultation invited those who live, work, or have an interest in the review area to tell us if they think new parish and/or town council(s) should be created to represent the unparished areas of Tunbridge Wells, and if so, how many councils should be created.
The headline results from the first phase of public consultation are set out below, followed by information about the next steps.
Responses received
We received a total of 1,044 responses to our phase one consultation survey. The breakdown of how responses were received is:
- 1,024 online
- 20 paper forms
Headline results
When asked if a new parish and/or town council(s) should be created for the unparished areas of Tunbridge Wells, the responses were…
- Yes: 626 (60%)
- No: 300 (29%)
- Uncertain: 116 (11%)
- Blank or unclear: 2
Of those who said that a new parish and/or town council(s) should be created…
- 418 (67%) said there should be one town council
- 208 (33%) said there should be more than one parish or town council
The top three benefits of a town/parish council selected by respondents were…
- improved local decision making (672)
- better community representation (649)
- local management of services and community assets (647)
The top three concerns about a town/parish council selected by respondents were…
- cost to residents through a Council Tax precept (603)
- increased bureaucracy or red tape (481)
- lack of clarity on what a parish or town council would do (410)
Next steps
The Council's Working Group will now consider all representations received and the results of the phase one consultation survey, including the comments and suggestions made. These will be used to inform a set of Draft Recommendations which will be published at the end of September.
A second phase of public consultation will be run to ask for feedback on the Council's Draft Recommendations. This second phase is due to commence on 22 September 2025.