A Kirklees cllr has urged the authority to “listen” to voters after plans for a new Honley parish council were preliminarily rejected.
The draft final recommendations of Kirklees Council’s Community Governance Review were discussed by the Corporate Governance and Audit Committee on 7 August .
The review considered a proposal to create a new Honley Parish Council covering Honley and Brockholes.
The report said the proposal had been welcomed by some as a way to strengthen local representation and give communities a “clearer, more focused voice”.
However, it also raised concerns about increased costs, duplication and the potential loss of strategic coordination across the wider Holme Valley.
Some residents who responded to the consultation also questioned whether creating another parish council would be worthwhile.
One warned that dividing the area into two parishes could lead to additional “administrative and management costs” and create a more fragmented community.
Another said a separate council would simply mean “more bureaucracy and admin costs”. The council said the consultation had attracted a very low level of public participation.
Its report concluded that the turnout did not provide a “sufficiently broad or robust evidence base to demonstrate clear community support”. As a result, the draft recommendation was not to create the new parish council.
However, Cllr Charles Greaves, leader of the Valley Independent Group, challenged the weight placed on the consultation figures. He said around 3,000 voters had supported the group’s election manifesto, which included a commitment to create a separate parish council for Honley and Brockholes.
Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Greaves said the consultation figures were “not compelling” but argued that the wider election result should also be considered. He said all three independent candidates elected in Holme Valley North had stood on a platform that included splitting Honley and Brockholes from Holme Valley Parish Council.
Cllr Greaves said the candidates had been elected with the backing of around 3,000 voters. He also claimed that many of those who had opposed the proposal were Labour councillors and activists who were no longer represented on the council.
Nick Howe, Policy and Partnership Manager at Kirklees Council, said the authority had given residents opportunities to take part in the consultation. He said a “significant amount of weight” had been placed on the level of public engagement.
Mr Howe said: “I get that my colleague will be frustrated that people haven’t responded, but it certainly isn’t through the lack of ability and lack of opportunity to do so within the consultation.”
The recommendation remains part of the Community Governance Review process and could be subject to further consideration before a final decision is made.
