Chesterfield MP suggests residents start petition on whether to abolish Staveley council

The town council was bailed out by Chesterfield Borough Council who agreed to a £400,000 loan in February 2023, to prevent bankruptcy. An independent Improvement Board was appointed to produce a report which severely criticised the town council’s financial management between at least 2011 and 2022 but also recognised its most recent progress and has provided constructive advice for its best way forward.

However, Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins who has been calling for Chesterfield Borough Council to set up a Community Governance Review to consider whether the town council should be abolished, says it is up to residents to consider if they should start a petition to also call for a Community Governance Review.

Following the report’s release, Mr Perkins stated: “I note that the report suggests that all interviewed believed that Staveley Town Council was needed and should be preserved.

“This is contrary to the view expressed by the vast majority of my constituents who returned a survey that I sent to every house in Staveley that fell within my constituency in April, 2023.”

The Chesterfield MP claimed that 83 per cent out of 706 respondents had called for the abolition of Staveley Town Council after 5,172 homes were surveyed during the first half of 2023 about the town council’s services.

Despite severe criticism from the Improvement Board’s report – released in November 2023 – it also recognised councillors want to make the town council effective for residents, and it acknowledged lots of potential and opportunities, and praised the current, experienced town clerk. However they also urged more effective partnership between councillors and other authorities.

The board stressed the cause of Staveley Town Council’s financial position was due to events between 2011 and 2022 which were not due to issues faced by one particular political group’s administration.

Staveley Town Council’s budget was deemed to be ‘balanced’ by November, 2023, with the council showing a clear understanding of the long-term commitments it has to manage, according to the report.

The report also acknowledged that a new financial system has been introduced by the new clerk who has shown a good grasp of the council’s organisation and the authority has since reduced expenditure as it works to pay off its debt.

Staveley Town Council has stated that it aims to demonstrate good governance, better engagement with the community, improved management and development of staff and councillors, and it has acknowledged a range of recommendations in the report.

Following the release of the Improvement Board report, Mr Perkins said he had spoken with Chesterfield Borough Council and he had understood the borough council’s desire to wait and consider the outcome of the report.

Mr Perkins added: “I had already spoken to Chesterfield Borough Council and understood their desire to wait for the independent review to report and it is now for Staveley residents to decide if they wish to start a petition to call for a Community Governance Review to consider the abolition of Staveley Town Council. The Labour Party are clear that this is a decision for the people of Staveley.

“It is important to know whether resident’s views have changed since the survey I did in ‘May’ and also to hear from those Staveley residents who don’t live within the Chesterfield constituency.”

Independent Staveley Town Councillor Paul Mann feels the authority can safely progress and secure its future and he has previously argued Mr Perkins does not represent all of Staveley and that his survey included only a limited number of responses.

When Staveley Town Council’s financial plight came to light, NE Derbyshire Conservative MP Lee Rowley helped to bring people together to try and resolve matters, according to Staveley Town Council.

Liberal Democrat leader at Staveley Town Council, Cllr Paul Jacobs, also argued MP Toby Perkins’ survey was not representative of the whole of Staveley not least because a third of the area is represented by a Conservative MP.

Staveley Town Council’s Labour Group Leader, Cllr Barry Dyke, said he supported the report’s recommendations and conclusions.

Chairperson Elaine Tidd, of Staveley Town Council, has said the report marked a new era for the town council and that it had helped draw a line under the past and opened a new chapter for the council to better represent and serve the community and re-establish organisational credibility and confidence.

Chesterfield Borough Council Leader, Cllr Tricia Gilby, also welcomed the report and said it had provided a ‘roadmap and lifeline for the town council to ‘follow for a more positive future’.

An Improvement Board spokesperson stated in its report: “As part of our work the Board asked each person we spoke to about whether Staveley Town Council should continue.

“Without exception everyone said that it should as Staveley should be represented, it was the focal point for community efforts, there was a need to support the local community and without it there were fears that efforts and resources would be concentrated only in Chesterfield itself.”

Labour-controlled Chesterfield Borough Council has been considering Chesterfield Labour MP Toby Perkins’ request since the summer of 2023 for the borough council to pursue a Community Governance Review into the future of Staveley Town Council.

Any overseeing council authority that decides to pursue a Community Governance Review is given 12 months to complete it from the time the terms of reference are published to when the council publishes its final recommendations and its decision following a full council meeting.

At the time of the Improvement Board’s investigation Staveley Town Council’s make-up was six Labour councillors, five Liberal Democrats, five Community Independents, and one independent after the May 2023 elections.

However, Labour Staveley Town Cllr Debbie Wheeldon has since resigned her seat and a by-election is expected soon for the vacant Duckmanton ward.