CT5 Socials
Voice for Whitstable
Local Democracy Group
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.
The second is a submission to the City Council asking them to protect our local democracy through this transition and afterwards.
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.
We will be debating all these issues at the Forum meeting on Wednesday September 10th at the Whitstable Umbrella Centre.
We hope you can join us.
Many thanks for your interest.
Bernadette Fisher, Chair of the Local Democracy Group.
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
Why we still believe in a Town Council
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Whitstable is a great place to live and work. Our town is unique and many people work hard in support, but it often feels that we are overshadowed by Canterbury City and our own personality gets lost in the big picture. We have very different needs to the City and the town could be a whole lot better if it had the ability to care for itself.
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Whitstable is in a minority. Outside the Canterbury City Council district every urban area in East Kent has one, apart from Margate (where a plan to create one is currently under consideration).
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What voice we have now could be lost, as there is the real possibility that in the future Canterbury City Council will be subsumed into an even larger “unitary” authority, the preferred route in central government.
We need a voice for Whitstable.
We are losing out - See what other towns that have councils have achieved
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Town councils can access funding that CCC and Kent County Council cannot.
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Currently there is no Whitstable community organisation with which CCC is legally obliged to consult on planning matters, including new developments. A Town Council would have to be consulted.
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It could add value to the hard work of CCC councillors.
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So many great things already happen in our town through the amazing efforts of local groups and individuals. A Town Council could bring these efforts together and help bid for more funding.
Whitstable Town Council could:
Represent the needs of our diverse community
Help to administer day to day life in our town
Improve the quality of life for all who live, work and visit our town
How it will be set up
The nationally established procedure is shown below
Stage One
A petition in support of a Town Council, needs to be signed by 7.5% of the electorate.
Stage Two
Within twelve months of receipt of the petition Canterbury City Council are obliged to undertake a community governance review.
Stage Three
If the community governance review concludes support for a Town Council, Canterbury City Council execute a reorganisation order to set the Town Council up.
Stages 4 & 5 will then be reviewed, but may be:
Stage Four - this is an enabling period, giving some time to allow the actual Town Council to form.
Stage Five - The members of the Town Council are then elected.
There will be a full Public Consultation at Key Stages through this process.
What could Whitstable Town Council do?
The initial responsibilities for a Town Council are determined during stage four, the enabling period. These would be determined through consultation with the City and County councils.
Here are some of the aims we believe should be considered during stage four:
Nurture the energy that exists in the town already. “The whole is greater than the sum of the parts”. We have many fantastic, largely voluntary groups working hard for CT5. They need support, places to meet and capacity to co-ordinate.
Develop plans for economic development including tourism and sustainability that support the uniqueness of the town and the basic needs of its people.
Promote diverse home tenure in the town - so that all who live and work here can afford good quality housing and our streets are lived in during the week and in the winter.
Help those who may be left behind at the moment. Bringing youth work, support of the elderly and care and access for disabled people to the forefront.
Ensure that council tax and revenue generated by the town is spent locally and wisely.
Influence planning and licensing - A town council Town Council would be a statutory consultee, could instigate neighbourhood plans for parts of the town and be involved in supplementary planning advice.
Encourage Inward investment. - A Town Council would have the ability to apply for grants or loans (like the levelling up fund) for improvements in the town. It could create a lottery to support small local voluntary groups.
Promote use of local businesses - by locals and visitors, notably independent retail and hospitality.
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Promote culture. Co-ordinating festivals, fetes, themed events like nature weeks and our
already fantastic arts programme.
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Civic Pride. Encourage pride in our town so that locals and visitors alike show respect for our environment and the town is safe.
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Wellbeing. Promoting enjoyment of public spaces, particularly with regard to pollution and mental wellbeing.
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Provide a new community hub. A central place for the Town Council to meet and for people involved in the community to come together and to work with web-based communication to bring together community organisations.
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Develop strong relationships with other councils. By having strong links with the District and County Councils as well as other town and parish councils in the area.
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Traffic management. Promoting walking and cycling as well as use of clean public transport. Working with the City and Kent County Councils to manage traffic and parking in the town.
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Improving local facilities. Tree and other planting for biodiversity and shade and management of parks, open spaces, cemeteries, public toilets etc.
Questions & Answers
Below are answers to the most common questions regarding Town Councils.
If you need further information, please contact us
