Issue - meetings

This report presents the consequential and supplementary provisions required to implement the establishment of new town councils for Broadstone, Poole, and Bournemouth, following the Council’s decision of 14 October 2025.

It outlines the arrangements necessary to ensure the new councils are legally compliant and operationally effective from 1 April 2026. Key recommendations include the formation of Shadow Councils from 1 January 2026 to oversee the recruitment of qualified clerks and address pre-implementation matters, and the agreement of anticipated precept amounts for each council, enabling sound financial planning.

The report details the limited transfer of assets, statutory requirements for allotments, and the continuation of certain services under Service Level Agreements to ensure continuity and mitigate risk. These measures are designed to provide a robust framework for the successful transition to new local governance arrangements and to support effective service delivery from inception.

The Chair of the Community Governance Task and Finish Group, Councillor Oliver Walters presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'A' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

Council was advised that the report presented the consequential and supplementary provisions required to implement the establishment of new town councils for Broadstone, Poole, and Bournemouth, following the Council’s decision of 14 October 2025.

In addition Council was informed that the report outlined the arrangements necessary to ensure the new councils are legally compliant and operationally effective from 1 April 2026, and that key recommendations included the formation of Shadow Councils from 1 January 2026 to oversee the recruitment of qualified clerks and address pre-implementation matters, and the agreement of anticipated precept amounts for each council, enabling sound financial planning.

Further to this council was advised that the report detailed the limited transfer of assets, statutory requirements for allotments, and the continuation of certain services under Service Level Agreements to ensure continuity and mitigate risk, and that these measures were designed to provide a robust framework for the successful transition to new local governance arrangements and to support effective service delivery from inception.

The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Board, Councillor Kate Salmon addressed the Council and provided a factual report of the debate of the Board on this item at the meeting the previous evening. 

In relation to this Councillor Salmon advised that there had been an amendment proposed at the meeting in relation to recommendation (c) which sought to take the proposed precepts to the shadow councils in January before coming back to an extraordinary council meeting to take the final decision on setting those precepts. Council was advised that following debate the board had been split on the amendment relating to recommendation (c), but that the move had been narrowly defeated when put to the vote.

Councillor Salmon further advised that the outcome of the discussion by the Overview and Scrutiny Board had been by consensus to note the contents of the report rather than to express either support or objection.

Councillor Patrick Canavan proposed an amendment to the recommendations seeking to take the proposed precepts to the respective shadow councils prior to coming back to council, the recommendation read as follows: -

‘the precept be referred to the shadow councils for consideration’

This amendment was seconded by Councillor Sue Aitkenhead.

Comprehensive discussion took place on the amendment during which members spoke in support of and against the amendment with some concern raised regarding any potential delays this could cause in respect of the recruitment of Town Clerks for the newly established Town Councils and the potential impact of holding the shadow council meetings and an extraordinary council meeting by the required 14 January date.

Councillor Hazel Allen requested a recorded vote in respect of the proposed amendment and upon receiving the required support for a recorded vote the proposed amendment was put to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65

This report presents the consequential and supplementary provisions required to implement the establishment of new town councils for Broadstone, Poole, and Bournemouth, following the Council’s decision of 14 October 2025.

It outlines the arrangements necessary to ensure the new councils are legally compliant and operationally effective from 1 April 2026. Key recommendations include the formation of Shadow Councils from 1 January 2026 to oversee the recruitment of qualified clerks and address pre-implementation matters, and the agreement of anticipated precept amounts for each council, enabling sound financial planning.

The report details the limited transfer of assets, statutory requirements for allotments, and the continuation of certain services under Service Level Agreements to ensure continuity and mitigate risk. These measures are designed to provide a robust framework for the successful transition to new local governance arrangements and to support effective service delivery from inception.

The Chair of the Community Governance Review Task and Finish Group presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'B' to these minutes in the Minute Book. The report presented the consequential and supplementary provisions required to implement the establishment of new town councils for Broadstone, Poole, and Bournemouth, following the Council’s decision of 14 October 2025.

It outlined the arrangements necessary to ensure that the new councils were legally compliant and operationally effective from 1 April 2026. Key recommendations included the formation of Shadow Councils from 1 January 2026 to oversee the recruitment of qualified clerks and address pre-implementation matters, and the agreement of anticipated precept amounts for each council, enabling sound financial planning. The report detailed the limited transfer of assets, statutory requirements for allotments, and the continuation of certain services under Service Level Agreements to ensure continuity and mitigate risk. The Board was advised that the measures were designed to provide a robust framework for the successful transition to new local governance arrangements and to support effective service delivery from inception. The Board noted an amendment to the report to show that the Whitecliff and Parkstone allotments were managed rather than self-managed. Councillor Ricketts, as an experienced town clerk, shared her knowledge on a number of practical requirements for establishing town councils. A number of issues were raised in discussion of this item including:

• Precept level set – It was emphasised that the proposed budgets were minimal and designed to allow councils to function in their first year for a sufficient Council Tax precept amount. Concern was expressed that the proposed budgets were restrictive and could limit the councils’ ability to act ambitiously in their first year. It was argued that the shadow councils should review the budgets before approval to ensure democratic involvement. Other Board members advised that they would not want to see any rise in the precept level set within the report.
• Recruitment of Clerks – The Board discussed the recruitment process for Town Clerks and in particular the time frame for this and the practicalities of securing someone suited to the position if the salary was not finalised.

• Statutory timeframe – In response to queries by the Board it was confirmed by officers that the statutory deadline for setting precepts was the 31 January. It was explained that if the budget setting was to be done by shadow Councils this would need to be completed by 14 January to allow sufficient time for this to be considered by a Council meeting. Concerns were raised about the complexity of establishing governance frameworks, policies, and financial plans within limited meeting schedules.
• Discretionary spending – It was highlighted that the proposed budgets allowed for discretionary spending of not insignificant amounts for all of the town councils in year one, with significantly more flexibility in year two once setup costs were removed.
• Staffing – The Board asked for further information on staff to support  ...  view the full minutes text for item 78