Application for Parish Council Status

The Forum applied to form a Parish Council last year, and we can now report that Runnymede Borough Council's (RBC) Full Council meeting on 23rd October approved proceeding to the second stage of public consultation. Significantly, approval has been unanimous at both Council meetings.

The second stage of public consultation ran (via a survey) from 3 November to 15 December and we would like to thank all of you who completed the second survey. The indications are a positive outcome but we will have to wait for the details until a report is submitted for the RBC Corporate Management Committee meeting on 22 January and then the RBC Full Council meeting on 16 February. We will update you as soon as we know the final outcome.

The proposed Parish Council will be practical, not political and will exist to care, serve and do its best for residents as well as securing funding for projects.

As you will no doubt have read in the press and via social media, Surrey is to have two new unitary authorities replacing both Surrey County Council and the twelve existing councils (in our case Runnymede Borough Council) in April 2027. It would appear that the new West Surrey Council in which we will fall, will inherit a significant debt in the order of £4.5 billion! This process will lead to there being a lower number of local Council Representatives serving larger areas with considerably further distance between local needs and administering body and greater competition between resources and their allocation. This reinforces the initiative to establish a Parish Council in Englefield Green so that local people can have their say and be able to protect their local environment.