New community councils could be created in surrey’s smallest borough

New community councils could be created in Surrey’s smallest borough. You may have heard of the LGR (local government reorganisation ), now this is the CGR, community governance review. The

LGR will see Surrey councils as we know them dissolved into two or three mega councils. Some people have expressed concern this could leave a ‘democratic deficit’, meaning residents will not

get their voices heard at a local level. To tackle this, Epsom and Ewell Borough Council (EEBC) could be looking at creating new ‘community councils’ to provide a link between residents and

the new mega council authorities. This week, councillors will attend a private briefing on the community governance review (CGR) and will, with the Mayor’s agreement, schedule an

extraordinary full council meeting on June 26. At the public extraordinary council meeting, councillors will agree whether to start a CGR in Epsom and Ewell, that could eventually lead to

the creation of new community councils. Details on the exact function of the ‘community councils’ and how they may differ from current borough and parish councils are scarce. But an EEBC

statement suggests they will aim to “enhance local representation” by giving residents a voice, raising awareness of local issues and be involved in decision-making they are affected by.

Cllr Hannah Dalton, leader of EEBC, said: “We are navigating the biggest change in local democracy for more than 50 years. As a priority we are working to ensure that, whatever the outcome

of local government reorganisation, the voices of our residents and local communities continue to be heard in years to come – this is a vital element of local democracy. We will keep

residents informed and updated throughout this process.” Epsom and Ewell Borough Council have published three different options mapping out the potential divisions for two community councils

in the borough, as per the diagrams below. OPTION 1 OPTION 2 OPTION 3 JOIN OUR NEW WHATSAPP COMMUNITY! CLICK THIS LINK TO RECEIVE YOUR DAILY DOSE OF SURREYLIVE CONTENT. WE ALSO TREAT OUR

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