Councillors have given the go-ahead to create a town council for Stafford.

This follows the recommendation of a cross-party council working group who put forward proposals for the Town Council after a six-week consultation earlier this year.

A parish or town council is the most local form of government and is responsible for services such as park management and the running of events.

They also make representations on behalf of the communities they represent on planning applications and other local issues.

Stafford Borough Council said: "Stafford is the only 'unparished' area of the borough and, although the Government recently announced a pause on plans that could see the local authority abolished, there are still concerns there could be a lack of local representation for the county town in the future."

At a borough council meeting held on Tuesday (8 September), elected members agreed to the recommendation.

The council would serve more than 46,000 residents with elections expected to be held in May 2027.

A consultation, which received around 1,000 responses, found that 65 percent of residents were supportive of establishing a Stafford Town Council - and only 27 percent were not in favour.

Stafford Borough Council added: "The consultation formed part of a Community Governance Review, a statutory process required before any new town or parish council can be created.

"Initial proposals mean the average Band D household would pay less than 75p a week towards the running of the new council."

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Aidan Godfrey said: "I'm very pleased the council has now given its backing to this.

"We are very grateful to everyone who took the time to participate in the consultation.

"The level of response demonstrated the importance of this decision for the future governance of Stafford - and those views have played a key role in shaping the recommendation to go ahead with a town council for Stafford.

"We will continue to ensure local voices are at the heart of this process as it moves forward."

After strong opposition from Doxey residents in the consultation, the working group has also recommended that Doxey should not form part of a new Town Council.

Doxey is already served by an existing Parish Council.

Read the full report here.

On Monday 7 September, the Government announced it would 'pause' and review proposals that would see Staffordshire served by two new unitary authorities - one serving the north and the other, including Stafford Borough, in the south.