Ramsgate Parish Council plans agreed
Plans to establish a parish or town council for Ramsgate have
been agreed by Thanet District Council.
At the meeting of full council last night, Members agreed to
approve the making of an order, which will become effective on 1
April 2009, to constitute a new town or parish council for
Ramsgate. It means Thanet will be one of the first places in the
country to establish such a council, under new government
legislation.
The change in government legislation on 30 October 2007
essentially made councils responsible for creating new parishes.
However, at the time the legislation came into effect, Thanet
District Council had already submitted the idea of creating a
parish council for Ramsgate to the Secretary of State.
In May 2008, it was confirmed that Thanet District Council would
be responsible for considering the petition and taking forward the
process. As this was a new process, the council sought legal
advice, which it received in August 2008.
Chief Executive Richard Samuel said: “This decision now allows
us to move forward with the creation of a parish or town council
for Ramsgate. It has taken a long time to get to this point and the
change in government legislation has made the process that we have
had to go through exceptionally complex. However, now we can
proceed with making the order, which will then come into effect
from 1 April 2009. With major elections for both County Council and
the European Parliament now confirmed for June, it is not possible
to hold the elections for the new Ramsgate council in May. It’s
simply too much work to try and undertake and it’s something that
we need to get right, rather than rushing. That’s why the likely
date for an election will probably be September 2009, once people
have returned from their summer breaks.”
ENDS