Background

Cheltenham Borough Council (CBC) is facing one of the biggest changes to local government in a generation. National reform means that Cheltenham Borough Council will be replaced by a much larger unitary authority, or authorities, covering a wider area than the borough alone. The government is now consulting on which option communities prefer. To find out more about this Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), please visit our devolution and local government reorganisation information page.

No matter what the future might look like for Cheltenham Borough Council, we want to make sure we keep and improve community engagement and cohesion; local democracy; civic pride; and the delivery of effective local services. This Community Governance Review (CGR) will help inform us on the model that we can use to do this. A CGR is a legal process that gives residents and organisations the chance to share their views on the most suitable ways of representing the people at a community level.

The main purpose of this review is to understand whether there is support for setting up any new town or parish councils in the borough or whether any of the existing parish councils of Charlton Kings, Leckhampton with Warden Hill, Prestbury, Swindon Village or Up Hatherley wish to amend their existing boundaries.

Stage one: Gathering your views (19 May - 18 July 2025)

During the stage one consultation we asked for your initial feedback on what works well and what could be improved. We invited suggestions for changes to parish councils, such as boundary changes, mergers, or governance improvements or suggestions that new parish or town councils are set up.

The first stage generated several proposals:

  • To complete a full review of the boundaries of Swindon Village Parish and Prestbury Parish, including Wyman’s Brook to establish which parish it should sit in
  • To complete a full review of the unparished area between Prestbury and Charlton Kings to understand if it should be incorporated into one of the already established councils
  • To consider setting up a new parish for Benhall and The Reddings
  • To directly ask the public, if they would like to see a town council in Cheltenham
  • To complete a full review of the Leckhampton and Warden Hill Parish to understand whether the existing parish should be extended and/or separated into two parishes

We are now beginning further work on the requested parish boundary reviews which will include preparing options for further consultation. Local engagement with affected communities will take place as those options are developed.  Consultation is likely to take place in April-May 2026.  

Stage two: Your views on a town council for Cheltenham (24 February to 29 March 2026)

At stage two of the process we are asking residents for their views on whether Cheltenham should have a town council.

Visit the stage two consultation page for more information.

Visit our timeline page for more information about the stages of this review.