New parish council formed in Aylesbury in time for May elections

In July 2019, Aylesbury Vale District Council (AVDC) undertook a Community Governance Review which included two rounds of local consultation in August and November 2019.

Consequently, in January 2020, the Buckinghamshire Shadow Authority’s Executive approved the creation of a new Kingsbrook Parish Council and Broughton Hamlet Parish Meeting, ahead of the local elections on 7 May 2020.

Councillor Angela Macpherson, Leader of AVDC, said: “The whole of Aylesbury Vale is parished and as new communities emerge the Council has always considered how those communities can be involved in local democracy through creating new Parish Councils.

“Parish and Town Councils are the most local tier of elected government and provide a vital role in managing local community affairs and representing local communities in discussions with higher levels of local, and even national, government.”

The previous Bierton with Broughton Parish Council which included Broughton Crossing, will now be renamed Bierton Parish Council and cover a smaller area, comprising Bierton Ward and Oldham Meadow Ward. Bierton Parish Council will elect nine members.

The new Kingsbrook Parish – which comprises mainly the new housing area to the east of Aylesbury – will have a new and separate Parish Council and will also elect nine members on 7 May 2020.

The much smaller area of Broughton Hamlet Ward of the former Bierton with Broughton Parish Council becomes a new Parish Meeting, known as Broughton Hamlet.

Parish Meetings are very small areas and are unusual in that they are a form of direct democracy, so rather than elect Parish Councillors every resident in the area is entitled to attend meetings and vote.

The annual meeting of the new Kingsbrook Parish will be convened by the new Buckinghamshire Council and shall take place no later than 14 days after the day on which the councillors of the new parish take office.

For its first year the precept for the new Parish Council has been set at £35 for a Band D rated property.

These changes now mean that there are 87 Parish and Town Councils and 25 Parish Meetings across Aylesbury Vale.

People interested in becoming a Parish Councillor should contact the Parish Clerk at their local Parish Council here.