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South Kesteven District councillors move forward with plans for a town council in Grantham




A town council could be created in Grantham after approval was given to a review.

A motion was put forward at a South Kesteven District Council meeting by Deputy Mayor of Grantham Councillor Graham Jeal (Con - Grantham St Vincent's).

He called on the council to approve the terms of reference of a Community Governance Review to establish a town council for Grantham and delegate the authority to himself, the chairman of the working group, in consultation with political group leaders to make any necessary amendments to those terms of reference.

Grantham High Street
Grantham High Street

At its meeting in September, the council resolved to start a Community Governance Review to ask residents whether they support the creation of a town council for Grantham.

In order to establish a town council, the review will consider creating the area as a parish under Local Government legislation, known as ‘parishing’. If given the support needed, the new council would then have the opportunity to designate itself as a town council and create the role of mayor of Grantham.

Grantham is the only unparished area of South Kesteven without a separate Parish or Town Council.

Deputy Mayor of Grantham Coun Graham Jeal
Deputy Mayor of Grantham Coun Graham Jeal

Currently, Grantham has charter trustees instead of a town council comprising of the elected district councillors of the seven Grantham wards. The charter trustees elect the mayor and deputy mayor of Grantham from within the group.

"My hope is to catch the thoughts, feelings and wishes of residents in the unparished area of Grantham," said Coun Jeal.

The recommendations of the review must improve community engagement, bring the community closer together, create better democracy and result in more efficient delivery of services.

Councillor Ian Selby (Unaligned - Grantham Harrowby) said: “I shall be keeping an open mind on this consultation. I would have preferred a local referendum. It is something that comes up every so often.”

Coun Dean Ward, Coun Graham Jeal, and Coun Mark Whittington stand in the Mayor's Parlour
Coun Dean Ward, Coun Graham Jeal, and Coun Mark Whittington stand in the Mayor's Parlour

Councillor Mark Whittington (Con - Grantham Barrowby Gate) added: “For me the crucial thing is information and education. Is there enough time to get information out on both sides of the argument to allow people to make a judgement?”

There is no percentage of population required to secure a new council – it is exclusively up to South Kesteven District Council members.

Coun Jeal said: “This is a community governance review rather than a referendum; it will be determined by a committee whether it accepts the mandate returned.

"I am not going to second-guess the response.”

Details such as the cost of setting up the council are not clear, however, Bexhill Town Council which covers a similar population and was set up last year, was estimated to cost up to £100,000.

If the town council gets the go-ahead, representatives could be elected by May 2023.

The recommendation to proceed with the Community Governance Review was approved by the majority of councillors.



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