Councillors back plans to create a new Stafford Town Council
Plans to create a new town council for Stafford have moved forward
Last updated 11th Sep 2026
Plans to create a new town council for Stafford have moved forward – despite proposals that would see Stafford Borough Council face the axe being put on hold.
Currently the county town is the only area of Stafford Borough without a town or parish council – and there have been calls over the years for one to be created to represent Stafford residents.
On Tuesday (September 8), borough councillors voted unanimously at their full meeting favour of a new town council being set up. The move had been recommended by a working group and follows a recent Community Governance Review of the area.
Speaking after the vote, borough council leader Aidan Godfrey said: “Today has been an historic vote – we will set up a new town council in Stafford. It has never had one before and it will benefit the people of Stafford immensely.”
Councillor Tony Pearce, who has previously campaigned for a town council to be established, said at the meeting: “I’m not only supporting the proposal, but I want to say this is a very happy day for me. We need a town council – it is a voice for the town, it can object to planning applications, and most of all it can add value to the town.
“Stone is a great example of what can be done by a town council, in addition to what the borough and county are doing.”
A report to the full council meeting revealed that 63.6% of those who took part in the consultation were in favour of a town council, with 26.7% against and 9.6% unsure. It added: “Respondents in favour commented about the importance of local decision making and the need for the town to have representation within the unitary system, as well as the importance of preserving the civic identity.”
Work to consider the creation of a town council began as Stafford Borough Council itself faced abolition, in a national move to replace county, borough and district councils with unitary authorities. Staffordshire’s eight borough and district authorities, as well as Staffordshire County Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council, were set to be abolished in 2028, to be replaced by two new unitary authorities in the north and south of the county as part of the national programme of local government reorganisation (LGR).
The creation of two larger councils – with 84 members elected to the northern authority and 92 to the southern one – led to concerns there would be a democratic deficit and loss of identity for the Stafford area. It was hoped a new town council could preserve the town’s civic tradition of having a Mayor, which dates back to 1614.
But the national shake-up was put on hold on Monday (September 7) for 14 parts of England, including Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. Stafford Borough Council leader Aidan Godfrey told fellow members the following day that authorities had been “instructed to stop all LGR implementation work”, meaning an item due to be considered at Tuesday’s meeting – establishment of a South and Mid-Staffordshire Local Government Reorganisation Joint Committee – was withdrawn.
Elections scheduled for next May, which were due to take place for the new authorities ahead of them taking over council services in April 2028, will instead go ahead for the current Stafford Borough Council, members were told. A newly created Stafford Town Council would also have its first elections in May 2027, the report to the council said.
It added: “The council’s decisions will be brought into effect by an appropriate
‘establishment order’. It is recommended that the order is made prior to 1
December 2026 to allow electoral registers to be updated before their
statutory publication.
“For preparatory purposes, the town council itself would become a legal entity (on 1 April 2027). In the interim period before the elections, it would be usual practice to have its interests represented by existing Borough Council ward members for that area.
“Other preparatory work, such as drafting governance documents, obtaining appropriate insurance, setting up bank accounts etc, will need to be carried out in order to ready the new council for its first annual meeting and allow it to operate from day one.”
It has been recommended that the new town council will have 19 councillors and 11 wards, covering Baswich, Common, Coton, Forebridge, Highfields and Western Downs, Holmcroft, Littleworth, Manor, Penkside, Rowley and Castletown, Weeping Cross and Wildwood. Doxey already has its own parish council, which was founded in 2005.
The new town council would charge residents a precept for its services, as other current town and parish councils do, which forms part of a household’s annual council tax bill. The estimated annual precept charge for a Band D household for the new Stafford Town Council is currently £38.44.