Grantham is set to see a return of its own town council.
On Wednesday, South Kesteven councillors voted almost unanimously in favour of the creation of a Grantham Parish Council, following consultation from the Community Governance Review Working Group.
The council will consist of a total of 22 councillors, four of which will represent the St Vincent’s Ward with the remaining wards having three.
The town had its own council, Grantham Borough Council, for more than 500 years until 1972, when it was replaced by SKDC.
While other towns – including Bourne Stamford and The Deepings also had a parish council, Grantham did not.
The proposal was presented by Councillor Graham Jean who said: “I really do think this is going to be an asset for the people of Grantham and local democracy.”
A number of members have been working on the cross-party project over the last few months and are hoping to have the new council ready to go for the May 2024 elections.
Labour Councillor Lee Steptoe applauded the work that has gone into it so far, saying: “It’s about equity for Grantham and its people.
“As an absolute born and bred ‘Granthamian’, nothing has given me more pleasure to help put this through.”
Deeping St James Councillor Phil Dilks added: “I hope it leads to this council [South Kesteven District Council] being less Grantham-centric and lets them get on with their own decision making.”
Councillor Ian Selby was the sole abstainer, due to concerns of another layer of government possibly creating confusion in the local community.
In a recent survey, some 66 per cent of people who answered said they wanted to see a new council created, with only 20 per cent saying they didn’t while 13 per cent were unsure or didn’t know.
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