The city council has recommended launching the first formal review of parish boundaries in Coventry since national legislation in 2007, a move that could alter which local bodies represent people in parts of the city and who pays parish precepts on their council tax.
What is proposed and where it would affect
A Cabinet member meeting this week backed a recommendation to examine the parish boundaries for Allesley and neighbouring Keresley. If the proposal is approved by the full council on 8 September, a consultation will follow asking residents in the affected areas for their views.
- Neighbourhoods named for possible change: Allesley, Keresley, Eastern Green, Pickford Green and Brownshill Green.
- Possible outcomes include being moved into a different parish area, or into an area without a parish council.
- The move responds to a petition and wider calls to consider abolishing parish councils in favour of neighbourhood forums that would not receive a parish precept.
Why residents are campaigning
The review follows a petition asking for the Allesley Parish Council boundary to be redrawn so that newer built-up parts of Eastern Green, Pickford Green and Brownshill Green are no longer classed within Allesley. The petition argues that recent housing development has changed the character of those areas and that the current arrangements create unfair differences in council tax bills.
"It is important for the council to know the unfairness of some residents having to pay a parish council precept while their next door neighbours don't, due to the current position of the parish boundary."
That statement was made by the organiser of the petition, who said the presence of a parish precept — an additional amount levied on council tax to fund parish councils — creates inconsistencies between adjacent streets.
How the process will work
If councillors agree the scope at the September meeting, the first step will be a formal consultation with all neighbourhoods affected. The review is being carried out under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, and the council's head of electoral services, Liz Read, has confirmed the legal framework applies.
| Area | Current status | Possible change |
|---|---|---|
| Allesley | Parish council | Boundary review |
| Keresley | Parish council | Boundary review |
| Eastern Green, Pickford Green, Brownshill Green | Included within Allesley parish (built-up areas) | Could be moved out or into areas without parish councils |
The review could also consider more sweeping change: replacing parish councils with neighbourhood forums that would not be funded through a parish precept. That option would affect how local community activities and services currently supported by parish precepts are financed and governed.
Local implications
For residents, the review raises two immediate practical questions: whether their local taxation will change, and who will speak for them on matters such as planning, greenspace and community projects. Parish councils currently deliver local services and represent parishioners; abolition or redistribution would shift responsibilities and funding arrangements.
The council has signalled the review will be consultative. Residents in the named areas will have an opportunity to respond before any final decision is taken. The outcome could reshape parish boundaries and the pattern of local representation for parts of Coventry for the foreseeable future.
