Create a new local council

To set up a new parish or town council, you must provide the principal authority with a petition that has signatures of at least 7.5% of the local population to trigger a Community Governance Review. In some cases, the principal authority can trigger this themselves. A neighbourhood forum that’s had a Neighbourhood Plan passed at referendum can trigger a Community Governance Review without needing a petition.

You can get more information and advice about what you need to do from the National Association of Local Councils’ (NALC) Create a Council. 

You can also read about what happens after a petition is submitted in Guidance on Community Governance Reviews, which explains how local authorities should review the petitions.