Councillor Carol Dean
Chair, cross-party councillor working group on community governance review
All households
Tamworth
14 September 2026
Dear resident
A parish council for Tamworth? Have your say by 4 October 2026.
Councillors are considering creating a new whole-borough parish council for Tamworth, and would like to hear your views.
What is a parish council?
A parish council would be different from Tamworth Borough Council which is a statutory local authority responsible for major services like housing, bins, and planning. In contrast, a parish council is a hyper-locally focussed organisation operating below the principal authority, focusing on community amenities like civic events and allotments.
A parish could take on some very local services but it would also come with a cost, funded through an extra amount in your council tax.
Who's leading this work
This review is being led by a cross-party group of Tamworth councillors, set up to make sure decisions on Tamworth's future governance are considered fairly and without political bias. I chair the group and it includes Councillor Stephen Doyle, Councillor Lee Wood, Councillor Bernard Skeen, Councillor Gareth Coates and Councillor Dave Foster. All local political groups are represented in this working group.
In the summer we consulted local people about whether Tamworth should have a parish council. Thank you to everyone who took part; the working group has used what we heard to draw up the draft recommendations.
The draft recommendations
- Tamworth should have a single parish council covering the whole borough.
- The parish should be divided into five wards, each with three councillors, matching the existing county council divisions. The five wards to be called, Mercia, Saxon, Anker, Tame and Peel.
- Parish councillors would serve as unpaid volunteers.
What would it cost?
Based on an initial budget of £500,000 a year, the indicative precept (an additional amount added to your council tax) would be:
|
Band |
Per year |
Per week |
|
A |
£13.77 |
24p |
|
B |
£16.06 |
30p |
|
C |
£18.35 |
35p |
|
D |
£20.65 |
39p |
|
E |
£25.24 |
48p |
|
F |
£29.83 |
57p |
|
G |
£34.41 |
66p |
|
H |
£41.30 |
79p |
This would fund the parish's set-up and running costs, including staffing, governance, elections, and local representation on planning matters. Once established, the parish would set its own future precept.
Have your say
Complete our short survey by 4 October 2026, see: tamworth.gov.uk/CGR Or scan the QR code to go straight to the survey.
You can also fill in a paper copy of the survey at our Marmion House reception.
For more information, including what a parish council is, see: tamworth.gov.uk/CGR
Yours faithfully
Councillor Carol Dean
Chair, cross-party councillor working group on community governance
Tamworth Borough Council