Horsham District Council recently invited local residents, businesses and community groups to share their views on whether Horsham Town Centre should have a town council.
The development of a town council would significantly affect how Horsham’s town centre would be managed in the future.
The Government has recently proposed that local government is reorganised, which would mean that Horsham District Council (HDC) and West Sussex County Council (WSCC) would cease to exist.
Instead, a new Unitary Authority council would be formed which would be responsible for all the main services currently managed by HDC and WSCC.
Moving to a large Unitary Authority means the future of facilities such as the current HDC managed bandstands, the War Memorial, Hills Farm Cemetery, the Museum and Art Gallery, its community halls, Horsham Park, and its allotments would be decided by a large organisation possibly not based in the Horsham area.
Horsham town is unique in Horsham District, in that many services and community facilities that are otherwise managed by parish councils, are managed by HDC. A newly formed Horsham Town Council could however take over running these services.
Results from the initial public consultations have shown:
- Some 75% of respondents are in favour of the creation of a town council for Horsham
- Over 88% of respondents felt a town council would deliver improved local decision making and community representation
- Some 75% believed there would be more opportunities for local involvement in decision making with a dedicated town council
- Almost 50% of people indicated that they would have a concern about additional costs to run a town council.
Overall, most respondents supported the creation of a town council and wanted to have more information about how it would work, the number of councillors and wards it would need.
For further information and to review the results in full please go to:
Feedback received from this initial consultation will now be used to inform a second consultation later in the summer, please look out for further details.
Cllr James Brookes, Chair of the Governance Committee commented:
“Many thanks to all of you who responded to our first consultation on whether you would like to see a town council for Horsham.
“The creation of a town council would be a first for Horsham and would bring major changes to how the town would be managed and how its services would be delivered for residents, so it is vital that we capture your views to shape any future proposals.
“Please look out for our second consultation later this summer which will help us to refine our ideas. Your views are really important to us.”