South Gloucestershire Council will carry out a pilot scheme to introduce four new Area Committees as way of expanding and delivering its Community Conversations agenda, which seeks to hear from and speak to local people about the issues that matter most to them.
The 18-month trial will begin in the summer, with four Area Committees replacing the current Community Engagement Forums (CEF’s), which have seen reduced participation since the Covid pandemic.
In the coming months, the council will work with people who are currently involved as Chairs of the existing CEF’s, Town and Parish Councils and other partners, such as the Police to shape the format of the meetings in each area.
Full details of the plans, and initial meeting dates will be announced in due course. Members of the public will be encouraged to attend their local Area Committee, where they will have the opportunity to ask questions and speak directly with decision-makers, so that their views can be considered and factored-in earlier on in the processes to determine policy and potential services changes, for example.
South Gloucestershire Council Leader, Cllr Maggie Tyrrell, said: “We are committed to putting local people at the heart of decision-making. Our Community Conversations approach aims to support this commitment, through two-way dialogue, and Area Committees are a next step.
“Through the pilot programme we will work with local people and other representatives such as Town and Parish Councils to produce a model that will help local people know what’s going on in their area, but most importantly, so that they can let us know what is important to them.
“We need to move beyond the current model, which no longer attracts participation from anything like the range of people living in our district, but who have valuable views and insights that we want to hear.
“We are prepared to try something new and to learn as we go, to refine the model so that it works for our communities.
“Area Committees won’t replace our formal consultation processes, but we would like more local people to see their views reflected in the options when we do consult, because they have been part of the decision-making processes much earlier on.”
South Gloucestershire Council Cabinet Member for Communities and Local Place, councillor Sean Rhodes, said: “We recognise and value the vast amount of local knowledge that residents and community leaders have at their fingertips, and we feel that the current model is not enabling the best use to be made of this valuable resource.
“We feel that there could be a better way of engaging directly with people, in their communities, giving them a more meaningful voice than just a vote every four years at the ballot box or taking a five-minute slot at Cabinet and Council meetings.
“We know that local people want to be part of forming the ideas that will go on to become policies and decisions, and we hope that Area Committees will help to make that happen.”
Details of the pilot programme can be found in the report considered by Cabinet at their meeting on Monday 12 March, which is available on the council website: https://council.southglos.gov.uk/documents/s158606/Cabinet%20March%2010%202025%20Area%20committee%20pilot%20programme%20FINAL.pdf
