A new City of Worcester Council would add £60 to £100 a year to a Band D bill. The consultation is open to 10 December, with abolition now due in April 2029.

Worcester residents have until Thursday 10 December to say whether the city should get a new parish council. It would be called the City of Worcester Council. It would cover the whole city except St Peter’s and Warndon Villages, which already have parish councils.

It would not be free. The city council estimates it would add £60 to £100 a year to a Band D council tax bill in its first full year, about £5 to £8.34 a month. (Future Worcester, Worcester City Council)

The consultation opened on 29 October. Every household is due a booklet in the coming days.

Why this is happening now

The government plans to abolish Worcester City Council and the county council and replace them with two unitary councils. Worcester would join Malvern Hills and Wychavon in a South Worcestershire council of about 328,000 people.

That plan was paused in September, as we reported at the time. On 29 October the government said it is “minded to” go ahead with the same two-council split. The timetable has moved back a year:

  • elections to the new councils in May 2028
  • the new councils take over on 1 April 2029, not 1 April 2028

(Minded to decision letter to Worcestershire council leaders, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, 29 October 2026)

It is not final. Councils and other interested parties will be invited to comment for at least three weeks. The leaders of all seven Worcestershire councils said in a joint statement that they do not expect confirmation until “before Christmas”. (Statement on Local Government Reorganisation update, Worcester City Council, 29 October 2026)

Without a parish council, most of Worcester would have no council of its own once the city council goes. The booklet says Worcester would be one of only two areas in Worcestershire with no representation at that most local level. Malvern, Evesham, Droitwich, Pershore, Upton-upon-Severn and Tenbury Wells all have one.

What is being proposed

The city council chose this option in July after the first round of consultation. More than 900 people responded then, and 76% said they wanted a new parish council. The proposal now out for comment is to:

  • create a parish council called the City of Worcester Council
  • leave St Peter the Great and Warndon Villages parish councils as they are
  • split the new parish into nine areas matching the county council divisions
  • elect 17 councillors, two for each area except Battenhall, which gets one
  • charge a precept on council tax bills to pay for it

The nine areas would be:

Area Councillors
Battenhall 1
Bedwardine 2
Claines 2
Nunnery 2
Rainbow Hill and Fort Royal 2
Riverside 2
St John 2
St Stephen 2
Warndon and Elbury Park 2

Battenhall is the area now covered by the St Peter county division, renamed. It has a smaller electorate than the rest.

The new parish would cover 89,405 residents of the city’s 106,671, on the Office for National Statistics’ 2024 figures. It would have 63,959 electors, as at 1 June 2026. (Future Worcester booklet, Worcester City Council)

What it would actually do

At first, not much. The booklet says the new council “would have limited responsibility for services”. It could then negotiate with the new unitary council and landowners to take more on. No services or buildings would transfer until it exists.

The booklet’s list of things a parish council for Worcester could run includes:

  • city events, including the Victorian Christmas Fayre, the Worcester Show, Remembrance Day and the Christmas lights
  • parks, playing fields, allotments and cemeteries
  • community centres and community grants
  • street markets, public toilets, litter and dog bins
  • war memorials, bus shelters and public seats
  • the Mayor of Worcester and the civic regalia

The last item matters to a lot of people in a city that has had a mayor for centuries. The city’s Royal Charters let it call itself a city, have a mayor and hold markets. The booklet says a new parish council would look after those rights, and could name itself a town council to take them on. One of its councillors could be Mayor each year, in a ceremonial role with no decision-making powers.

Councillor Lynn Denham, Leader of Worcester City Council, said: “If there is a new parish council it could take on services like parks, allotments, litter bins and public toilets. Importantly, it would also continue Worcester’s historic tradition of appointing a ceremonial Mayor each year.” (Should Worcester have a new parish council?, Worcester City Council, 30 October 2026)

What it would cost

The £60 to £100 figure is an estimate, not a set charge. The new councillors would decide the precept once they know which services they are running. The council says there is “no cap on the minimum or maximum precept, or how much it can change in any one year”.

For comparison, the average parish precept in England in 2025-26 was £92.22 at Band D. Worcester’s two existing parishes charge much less, because they run fewer services. Warndon Villages adds £31.28 at Band D this year and St Peter’s adds £22.90, as our Worcester council tax bands page shows.

Bar chart of yearly Band D parish precepts: St Peter's parish £22.90, Warndon Villages parish £31.28, the proposed City of Worcester Council's low estimate £60, the England parish average for 2025-26 £92.22, and the proposed council's high estimate £100
Yearly parish precept at Band D. Chart by The Worcester Times.
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The charge would appear on bills from the April after the parish council is created. In its first year the city council would fund it. Residents of St Peter’s and Warndon Villages would not pay it.

What happens next

  • 29 October to 10 December 2026: consultation open
  • December 2026 and January 2027: officers analyse the responses
  • Before 31 January 2027: city councillors make the final decision
  • Before Christmas 2026: the government’s final decision on the two unitary councils is expected

If the parish council goes ahead, its first election would be held alongside another planned election to keep costs down. A standalone city-wide poll was put at about £260,000 in a September council report.

What it means for you

  • You can take part online at worcester.gov.uk/futureworcester. The council says the survey takes about ten minutes, and asks people to read the booklet first.
  • Paper copies are at the Guildhall, The Hive, St John’s Library and Warndon Library.
  • Large print or another language: call 01905 722233 and choose option 8, or email elections@worcester.gov.uk.
  • Drop-in sessions are planned. The council says details “will be announced shortly”.
  • If you live in St Peter’s or Warndon Villages, your parish council stays and you would not pay the new precept. You can still respond.
  • Nothing changes to your services yet. Worcester City Council still runs bins, parking, planning and council tax, and will until the new councils take over.

Read our earlier report on why the consultation was delayed, and see what you pay now on our council tax bands page.

Sources