Skip to content Skip to left sidebar Skip to right sidebar Skip to footer

Guildford Borough Council invites residents to help shape future representation for ten Guildford wards

Guildford Borough Council invites residents to help shape future representation for ten Guildford wards

Guildford Borough Council is consulting on a Community Governance Review (CGR) for the unparished urban area of Guildford Town. The CGR explores how best to represent the local interests of communities across ten wards in Guildford Town. This is the only area in the borough without formal community governance arrangements already in place. 

The consultation sets out three options for future community empowerment or community governance:

  • No change option: await the creation of a new Unitary Authority
  • Community empowerment option: set up a Neighbourhood Area Committee (NAC)
  • Community governance option: Create one or more new parish councils

Respondents can also submit their own proposals with the reasons for an alternative option, its benefits and the specific area any new arrangements would apply.

The first phase of consultation runs until midnight on Sunday 28 September 2025. 

Leader of the Council, Cllr Julia McShane said:

“It’s important that we understand what kind of community empowerment or governance our residents want. This review is a chance to shape the future of Guildford Town’s representation and ensure it reflects the needs and aspirations of our communities.

“Every household in the affected wards will receive a letter from us explaining what we’re consulting on and how to submit their views. I encourage residents living and working in Guildford Town to have their say.”

Feedback from the initial consultation will help shape the draft recommendations to be presented to Full Council on Tuesday 9 December 2025. A second consultation phase on the draft recommendations could potentially take place in 2026.

More information about the community governance options and how to participate are on the Guildford Borough website by searching Guildford CGR.

Notes to Editor

The ten Guildford Borough Council wards in the unparished urban area of Guildford are:

  • Bellfields & Slyfield
  • Burpham
  • Castle
  • Merrow
  • Onslow
  • St Nicolas
  • Stoke
  • Stoughton North
  • Stoughton South
  • Westborough

Community Governance Review: The process for considering community empowerment and/or community governance, including potential creation of a new parish council, is known as a community governance review (CGR).

The process for a Community Governance Review is set out in The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 (LGPIHA 2007). 

Community governance reviews are reviews of the whole or part of a district or borough area to consider creating, merging, altering or abolishing parishes, including the electoral arrangements for parishes. This means making sure that those living in the area, and other interested groups, have a say in how their local communities are represented. 

A Neighbourhood Area Committee is a form of community empowerment.

A Parish Council is a form of community governance. It is a democratically elected tier of local government with directly elected representatives, independent of other council tiers and budgets.

How people can respond to the Guildford Community Governance review
There are three ways people can respond to this consultation:


​Press contact: Beverley Stonehouse – e-mail Beverley.Stonehouse@guildford.gov.uk