Next stage of consultation for a Guildford parish council agreed
If created, the new parish council would provide a strong connection to local communities, bridging the gap between residents and the new larger unitary council being set up as part of Local Government Reorganisation.
Residents in the ten affected wards would democratically elect parish councillors to provide local representation at the heart of their community.
What the draft recommendations propose
- Create one 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.
The new council must initially be set up as a parish council but could change to a town council at its first meeting.
What services would the new parish council provide?
To begin with, a new parish council would have responsibilities for things like:
- allotments
- representing the community on planning matters.
At a later date it could collaborate with the new unitary authority and other partners to take on more responsibilities. Examples of what other parish councils look after include
- playgrounds and open spaces
- the running of the mayor's office.
What would the precept be for the new parish council?
Parish councils set their own precept, which pays for the running of the parish council and the services it provides. This means that the parish council would have the ability to increase its precept each year to fund more services, as well as to lower it if providing less services. There is no cap on the minimum or maximum precept.
The precept for a new Guildford Parish Council is currently unknown but is estimated to be:
- between £60 and £100 per year for a Band D property in the first year
- that's about £5 to £8.34 a month.
Leader of the Council, Cllr Julia McShane said:
"With Local Government Reorganisation underway the time available for us to complete this community governance review has changed. We're moving swiftly to give residents living in the ten wards of Guildford Town the opportunity to have their say on creating a Parish Council for the town.
"In this round of consultation people can tell us if they want local representation at the heart of the community for Guildford Town in the form of a parish council."
What happens next?
This phase of consultation will run for eight weeks from the beginning of January 2026. An extraordinary Full Council meeting in mid-March will:
- consider the consultation responses
- decide next steps.
If approved, the earliest possible date for elections to any new parish council would be May 2027.
Extra information
The ten wards in the unparished urban area of Guildford would be represented as follows:
- Bellfields and Slyfield: two councillors
- Burpham: two councillors
- Castle: three councillors
- Merrow: three councillors
- Onslow: three councillors
- St Nicolas: one councillor
- Stoke: three councillors
- Stoughton North: two councillors
- Stoughton South: two councillors
- Westborough: three councillors
Stage One of the consultation was carried out from 5 August to 28 September 2025.
Published on: 12 December 2025