Residents across Clacton-on-Sea, Holland-on-Sea, and West Clacton and Jaywick Sands are being urged to attend upcoming public briefings as they help to shape how potential new community councils could be formed.
Tendring District Council (TDC) launched phase II of its Community Governance Review in those communities last month following strong support in the Phase I consultation for creating new community councils for the three areas. Community councils are often called parish or town councils.
This second consultation — which runs until 28 February — asks people to comment on a series of detailed options, including proposed council boundaries, council names, the number of elected members, and the types of local services they would like to see delivered at a community council level.
More than 3,400 people took part in the first consultation phase across the summer of 2025, with a clear majority in favour of establishing local councils for the three un-parished areas of the district. TDC is now encouraging residents to have their say now and help shape what local councils should look like here.
The proposals include establishing three new community councils: West Clacton and Jaywick Sands Town Council, Clacton-on-Sea Town Council, and Holland-on-Sea Village Council, with 12, 25 and 15 councillors respectively.
Mark Stephenson, Leader of TDC, said it was important that as many voices as possible were heard.
“This is the stage where residents can influence the real detail,” he said. “We received a strong message of support during the initial consultation.
“Now we want to understand what people feel the new local councils should look like, how they should operate, and what they should focus on delivering.”
Councillor Stephenson added that with the UK Government’s current proposals for TDC to be replaced by a unitary authority 3-4 times the size of Tending in 2028, having strong local representation here could be increasingly valuable.
The second consultation is mirroring the successful approach used in the phase I consultation, including online surveys, letters to households, public briefings and targeted engagement with community groups.
Letters are due to arrive on residents’ doormats this month, with public briefings arranged for February.
Public briefing sessions will be held at:
• Holland Public Hall, 137–139 Frinton Road, Holland-on-Sea, CO15 5UR – Monday, 2 February, 6.30pm
• Essex Hall, Town Hall, Station Road, Clacton, CO15 1SE – Tuesday, 3 February, 6.30pm
• Sunspot Business Centre, Brooklands, Jaywick Sands, CO15 2JG – Wednesday, 4 February, 6.30pm
• St John’s Church Hall, St John’s Road, Great Clacton, CO15 4BP – Thursday, 5 February, 6.30pm
Community councils help take up issues local to the people living in their areas and many are responsible for local parks, leisure services, events and facilities. They are also consulted as part of the process for planning applications in the area.
Average Band D homes in the parished areas of Tendring district pay on average just less than £76 per year (which equates to £1.46 per week) for services delivered by town and parish councils locally.
Analysis by the Essex Association of Local Councils suggests that the base costs for the three proposed local councils for Clacton, Holland and Jaywick could be between £8.63-£36.25 per year at Band D.
It would then be a matter of local decisions what services those local councils should deliver. Currently, Tendring District Council delivers certain open spaces, recreational areas and playgrounds across that, elsewhere, is delivered by local councils.
These costs are recovered by a £23.13 special expense at Band D in the Clacton, Holland and Jaywick areas. This would need to be reviewed if new local councils are created for those communities.
Mike Eldred, chairman of the Essex Association of Local Councils, said: "We encourage everyone to take part in this consultation and help define how these councils could serve their areas."
There’s a lot of information we’ve pulled together for you about the Community Governance Review and Town Councils, including a set of FAQs, at www.tendringdc.gov.uk/community-governance-review.
