Setting up a town or parish council

How to petition for a review

Petitions for a community governance review must meet certain conditions to be valid.

Your petition must:

  • clearly define the area that your request for a review relates to
  • have the name, address and signature of each local elector who signs it
  • be signed by at least 50% of the electors for an area with less than 500 local electors
  • be signed by at least 250 electors for an area with between 500 and 2,500 local electors
  • be signed by at least 10% of the electors for an area with more than 2,500 local electors
  • state the proposed recommendations for review

You should decide the number of signatures you need based on the most recently published electoral register. The electoral register lists the names and addresses of everyone who is registered to vote.

You can include a map that clearly shows the area you wish to be the subject of the review, or you can describe it and refer to fixed boundaries. Where a proposed boundary is near an individual property, you must make clear on which side of the boundary the property lies.

If your petition recommends a new town or parish council, or a parish meeting, for an area that is not currently a parish we will treat your petition as asking for a parish to be created, even if it doesn't specifically say so.

Submitting your petition

If you want to present your petition at a meeting or give it to us in person, you should contact our Democratic Services team.

Democratic Services

: direct.democracy@thurrock.gov.uk