On Tuesday 9th December, the Full Council resolved to change the name of the Council from Colehill Parish Council to Colehill Town Council. A Parish and Town Council both have the same statutory powers and can provide the same services.
We would like to thank all our residents who responded to our public survey on this during November, with 97.5% of respondents expressing support for the name change.
Colehill has c.7,500 residents and is currently the 16th largest settlement in Dorset, larger than 7 existing towns including West Moors, Wareham & Sturminster Newton. If all the housing proposed in the draft Local Plan goes ahead then our population would increase to c.13,400 and we would be the 9th largest settlement, larger than towns like Wimborne Minster, Corfe Mullen & Blandford Forum.
There are no specific facilities required to be a town, such as a shopping centre. We do have many of the facilities typically found in most small towns, including: Schools, Library, Churches, Community halls, Youth Club, Scouts/Guides, Cricket Ground, Playground, Recreation Park, Post Offices, Pub, Pharmacy, Care homes, Cemetery, Petrol Station, Garages, Bus Services, Light Industrial areas. We have compared our facilities with West Moors and Corfe Mullen, two local parishes that recently converted to town councils, and with a few exceptions our range of facilities is mostly similar.
The main reason for making the change, is to strengthen the protection available for our Green Belt. Until recently villages and towns had the same level of protection, but Government amended the planning rules earlier this year and there is now increased protection if a Green Belt site forms a substantial part of a gap between two towns and development would result in the loss of visual separation between the two towns. This protection doesn’t apply to villages. There is no guarantee that we can reduce the level of proposed development, but the transition to a Town Council means we will be better placed to seek to protect and enhance our area and respond to any future challenges. We also think the name change will increase our status and recognition, and may make it easier to attract new facilities.
The costs of this change will be small, mainly changes to signage, and administrative time updating our name with our bank and other organisations. We can absorb these costs within our existing budgets, with no increase to the precept we raise from residents via Council tax. Our councillors will continue to work on an unpaid basis.
A Town Council can opt to use the term ‘Mayor’ for the leader of the Council, but we have decided not to do this, but to retain the term ‘Chair’ as we are not seeking to introduce any increased pomp and formality to the role.
Work is now getting underway to update our name on signage and documentation including this website. This is likely to take a few months to complete. Any other organisations that use the term Colehill Village, for example Colehill Village Hall, will be unaffected, they can continue to use their current name.
Please contact us using our Feedback form if you have any questions about this change, or would like to provide us with any feedback.