Residents in Bagshot, Lightwater and Windlesham are being consulted on proposals to reform Windlesham Parish Council.
Surrey Heath Borough Council (SHBC) is conducting a Community Governance Review for Windlesham Parish Council (WPC), following a petition having been submitted by 619 electors within WPC. The petition calls on the SHBC to: "Create separate and devolved Parish Council for Windlesham Village and residents only."
WPC was one of the first parish councils to be established under the Local Government Act of 1894, and today, the Parish Council’s administrative area covers approximately one fifth of the land area and population of Surrey Heath. WPC provides a number of services across the villages of Bagshot, Lightwater and Windlesham including but not limited to:
- Maintenance and management of cemeteries in Bagshot, Windlesham and Lightwater
- A grant scheme to support local sports and recreational facilities and provide financial assistance to local voluntary and charitable organisations.
- Provision and maintenance of 52 allotment plots.
- Maintenance and management of a number of buildings (Council Chamber, Parish Office, Bagshot Chapel and the pavilion at Lightwater Recreation Ground), a public clock in Bagshot High Street and the Jubilee Lamp in Bagshot Square, three village war memorials and memorial gardens.
- Maintenance of public amenity areas, open spaces, recreation grounds, play spaces and play equipment owned by the Parish Council as well as other public land under formal agreements with other authorities
The purpose of the consultation is to ask residents of WPC which of the following options they would find most favourable:
- Option 1: To create a new parish in Windlesham and create a new Parish Council covering the area as per the petitioners’ request.
- Option 2: To re-instate an equal number of councillors representing each village within Windlesham Parish Council. This option reflected a request received from Windlesham Parish Council in January 2019.
- Option 3: To create a new parish ward for North Windlesham and amend the councillor representation in the parish wards to best reflect electoral equality in the parish.
- Option 4: To make no change to the current arrangements.
Letters have been sent to all households in the WPC by Surrey Heath Borough Council, informing them of the review, the options above proposed, and where additional information can be found. Letters have also been sent to elected representatives, Windlesham Parish Council, Surrey County Council and the Windlesham Society inviting them to respond.
The consultation is scheduled to run for 11 weeks from 5th August 2019 to 28th October 2019.
