CT5 Socials
Voice for Whitstable
Call for action by our Local Democracy Group
Whatever buzz there was out there about losing Canterbury City and Kent County Councils and replacing them for us with an East Kent Unitary has now been stirred up by the government’s decision to delay the whole process, as announced on September 7th. Despite this delay, Canterbury City Council has decided to carry on with the current review of local democracy as it is now about to enter the crucial second stage. Hence our call for action.
The link to the CCC consultation is here: https://news.canterbury.gov.uk/consultations/community-governance-review-stage-two-have-your-say-on-local-representation
Proposals
The Council has said they are looking for quantitative and qualitative responses from residents to their proposals and we want to encourage this. Broadly speaking they are proposing dividing Ct5, the area that we cover, into four new local councils. That is one each for Whitstable, Tankerton and Seasalter as well as merging Swalecliffe into Chestfield parish, in April 2028. (It’s also proposed to expand Blean Parish Council to the A299 encompassing Yorkletts.). Proposals for Canterbury are effectively delayed in order to protect city status and related roles like the Lord Mayor by creating charter trustees. Herne Bay, it is proposed, will have a single town council.
If you support these ideas for Ct5 then we recommend that you say so in the consultation, giving your own key reasons. From our research and many discussions, the below are our main reasons for supporting creating local councils across Ct5.
Reasons
Councillors
When the reorganisation of local government eventually happens, are we ok to just have one Unitary council for all of East Kent and not have anything more local? All other towns in the future East Kent Unitary council area have town councils. With fewer than 60 Unitary councillors in the now delayed plans to cover Canterbury, Thanet and Dover districts compared to the current 145. Is that sufficient?
This also means that the Unitary’s electoral wards will be much larger than those for Canterbury City Council. Distinct places such as Seasalter and Swalecliffe will share their councillors with neighbouring areas, no longer having dedicated representatives.
People in Whitstable have different views about Canterbury City Council but we’ve all known it was there. We’d see our local ward councillors occasionally and maybe write to them about our bins, worries about new builds or the state of the town. How realistic is it that a new Unitary councillor will be so accessible?
We don’t think so, which is why we are advocating for community (sometimes called local, town or parish) councils for Ct5. Local democracy is our focus and we worry that without community councils our local public buildings and open spaces will become neglected, our community groups and events will run out of steam and we will be dominated by a small number of influential and wealthy individuals.
We also see towns like Faversham, Ramsgate and Folkestone https://www.folkestone-tc.gov.uk/council/four-year-plan/ thriving with neighbourhood plans, a say on planning, a sense of belonging and a town council. In fact, without a local council, there will be no statutory consultee on planning apart from the new Unitary planning authority.
Whitstable with Tankerton
From our work looking at other Kent coastal towns over the past few years and dialogue with local people, we feel a town council for Whitstable is perfectly sustainable even if Seasalter and Swalecliffe choose to form their own councils or join the Chestfield parish. However, for some time our group’s preference has been for a single council for Whitstable and Tankerton which we feel is preferable and more viable than separating the two. We will say this in our group response to the consultation and hope that you will too.
To be honest we have seen no sign that people from either Gorrell or Tankerton wards are asking for two separate town councils. The main costs of a council are a venue, staff and councillors. Why would we want that duplicated with one for each ward? We are, however, confident that a Whitstable and Tankerton town council would work closely with those for Seasalter, Chestfield and Swalecliffe, sharing facilities, speaking with one voice and working together on plans that affect the whole Ct5 area.
Precept
There is a price to be paid by all of us and it’s called a precept (click here to see a list of local precepts). As community councils are fully embedded in their communities, they set their own precept based on what the community wants to achieve and is able to pay. They do this at a public local meeting that you can attend. It might go up some years and down other years. It is reduced, sometimes to zero, as is the rest of council tax, by law for certain people and residences. Currently where there are parish or town councils, residents pay for three councils. When the delayed Unitary takes over from Kent and the districts, there will only be two councils to pay for, the Unitary and the local council.
We think it’s worth it to maintain our voice and to have at least one publicly funded venue in Whitstable where people can meet and be supported. We know for sure that things like adult social care, education and roads are not getting any cheaper but those who have promoted the Unitary council idea think they will eventually save costs for us by cutting overheads. Let’s hope they’re right!
No doubt the first precept for each local council will be set at a level designed to enable it to function. Subsequently it’s down to local people and the people they’ve elected to balance their books.
Local
Uniquely and unlike other taxes, we know the precept will be used only for the local community. No other tax is so local. On top of that, a local council can apply for external funding to help turn the plans they agree into reality, perhaps even setting up a lottery to support local groups.
Action
So if you agree with us, be sure to go to https:/news.canterbury.gov.uk/consultations/community-governance-review-stage-two-have-your-say-on-local-representation and say so. It’s not a referendum but we do now need local people to use their voice in this consultation. It’s clear that support for the proposed local councils requires both quantitative and qualitative responses. For this reason we strongly advise that you say why you support the local council for your area, with your own words and your own reasons. It’s time for each of us to speak out and support our Ct5 community. Don’t leave it to others to speak for you.
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Update from Local Democracy Group, May 2026
Canterbury City Council (CCC) decided on April 30th to carry out a review of local democracy in the district, asking residents throughout the district for their views. It is doing this because of proposals for local government reform by parliament which will mean the disappearance of both the district council and the county council. They will be replaced by a single Unitary Authority in 2028 with elections next year.
This is the CCC press release which sets out clearly why and how they are carrying out the review. To note here is the date for a public information event in Whitstable which will be at the Horsebridge on Tuesday May 12th from 6pm to 7.30pm. Canterbury and Herne Bay will also have these events and there will be an online event on May 21st. Also of note below is the Council’s extensive FAQs.
Members of the CT5 Local Democracy Group will attend the event and we encourage those interested in this issue to attend as well.
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We formed a new local democracy group in June 2025 when it was clear that the government was going to proceed with its devolution agenda. Our concern was that we would be losing both Canterbury City Council and Kent County Council and they would be replaced by a single council called a Unitary.
We wanted to try our best to ensure that the voice of Whitstable was heard during this transition and afterwards. We did this by working with the Campaign for Democracy in the Canterbury District (CDCD) and others concerned about this change. We know that a new unitary will cover a much larger area than the current city council and that we will have fewer councillors overall representing us. The exception to this is those parts of the district which have parish or town councils. None of the three towns, Canterbury, Herne Bay or Whitstable has a town council.
As mentioned below, many people including councillors who were sceptical about the idea of a town council during our campaign said they would feel differently if a unitary was created. It will certainly be created and all city or county council buildings and spaces will be transferred to the unitary. Our energy and time have been focused on working with other groups to come to a shared position to protect or even improve upon our local democracy after the creation of the unitary.
We are also working with the Whitstable Society to examine and come up with proposals to put to Canterbury City Council to protect the buildings and spaces we all value in the town. We have put together three information sheets which you might find useful to help you get to grips with this confusing set of issues.
The first is a CDCD produced Q and A about the whole set of changes to local government that are happening now. Click here to read the CDCD Q and A
The second is a submission to the City Council asking them to protect our local democracy through this transition and afterwards. Click here to read more about protecting local democracy
The third is a set of proposals to help protect the buildings and spaces in the town that the city and county council now own in the face of their transfer to the new unitary. Click here to read more about protecting community assets
Whitstable Town Council
Update on the campaign for a Town Council by Chris Stanley
Chair of the CT5 People's Forum Town Council group
I'd like to start by thanking everyone who signed our petition and contributed to the City Council's Community Governance Review (CGR) which has now come to an end.
Our petition was successful in reaching the legal threshold to trigger the CGR. At that point, the City Council closed the petition to new signatures. Such was the level of support when we talked to people about the campaign that it was clear that we could have got many more signatures.
Sadly, following consultation with a limited number of local people, the City Council has decided not to proceed with forming a Town Council, despite a majority of respondents in Tankerton and Gorrell wards wanting one. A viable Town Council could have been formed with these two wards.
We are highly critical of the way the CGR and both stages of the consultation were conducted by the City Council and submitted a detailed critque to them.
An encouraging development is the new Labour Government's proposal for devolution to improve the way democracy is brought closer to the people (as mentioned in the King's Speech). We will have to wait for the legislation but it is widely speculated that unitary authorities would become more the norm, possibly replacing Kent County Council and Canterbury City Council. If this happens, even City Councillors sceptical of our Town Council proposal have said they would support the Town Council idea for us.
As Chair of the Town Council group, I am personally disappointed that the City Council did not choose to support our proposal. We do not know why the Council's leadership was against it. Every rural area of the District is parished: there are 27 Parish Councils, so why not Whitstable?
The CT5 Town Council group has worked tirelessly on the campaign, talking to individuals and groups, writing and distributing information and studying other town councils. Our only aim has been to improve things for our community. In our research we looked at town councils in Kent and many other parts of the country. This convinced us that a Town Council would bring enormous benefits to the town at very little cost and remain convinced of the benefits of a Town Council for CT5. For the time being, however, we will continue to work for greater democracy in CT5 and for sustained and reliable support for local groups working to improve the lives of local people. It is in our nature to do so.
Chris Stanley, Chair Town Council Group, October 2024
