Committee to consider next steps for local governance in Wycombe

Community Governance Reviews (CGR)s are carried out by local authorities from time to time to determine the direction for governance in local area.

In 2019, a CGR was carried out by the legacy Wycombe District Council which considered a number of options, including the establishment of new town and parish councils. A final decision on the way forward was not made by the district council at that time. The decision was deferred as the new Buckinghamshire Council unitary authority was being set up, and then an Electoral Review of Buckinghamshire as a whole was undertaken by the Local Government Boundary Commission. That Electoral Review has recently been completed and so the CGR for Wycombe can now be considered.

The Standards Committee has three main options:

• to agree to any of the proposals in the original CGR carried out in 2019
• to reject the original CGR and take no further action
• to commission a new CGR

Given the length of time since the previous review was carried out, the low response at the time, and the local governance changes which have taken place in recent years, it has been recommended to the Committee that a brand new review is commissioned. However, this will be a matter for the committee to decide.

If the committee votes to commission a new CGR, a councillor working group will be set up which will formulate a timeline for implementation. This review would include a public consultation, giving local residents and all interested parties the opportunity to comment.

David Goss, Chairman of the Standards & General Purposes Committee said: “This is an important decision for the committee to consider. We need to ensure we make the right decision that reflects where we are today. The review carried out in 2019 gives us a valuable insight but much has changed since that time, and we need to consider the best way forward. Committee members will ensure that all options are considered.”

View the meeting agenda and reports.