In February, residents were asked to comment on the proposal of a town council for Stafford. 

More than 1,000 people took part in the consultation which was part of a 'Community Governance Review.'

The consultation lasted six weeks and closed on 22 March.

Every area of the borough, apart from Stafford, is currently covered by a town or parish council. 

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 local community, on planning applications and other area-specific issues. 

Funding for town and parish councils comes from an addition to the council tax charge called a precept.

In 2028, the Government will replace district, borough, county and city councils in Staffordshire with larger unitary authorities which will deliver all council services.

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This has led to concerns about how Stafford will be represented.

A cross-party working group on the borough council recommended that the area to be reviewed should "encompass the unparished area of the borough and the current parished area of Doxey."

Letters were sent to those in the county town who would be affected by the change.

A report will be prepared for the working group, encompassing the feedback from the consultation.

Borough Council Leader, Aidan Godfrey, was keen to thank residents for taking part and said: "It is great to see so many residents have used this opportunity to share their views on whether having a new town council is the right thing for Stafford. 

"It is important that those who will be affected by these proposals have their say - and even more important that we listen to them."

If the creation of a town council were to go ahead, voting would take place in 2027 to elect councillors who could serve around 49,000 residents. 

For more information about the Community Governance Review, click here.

To find out more about Local Government Reorganisation, click here.