Review of parish arrangements in High Wycombe

On Thursday 24 August 2023, we decided to carry out a Community Governance Review (CGR) of High Wycombe.

This was to decide whether the unparished area of High Wycombe should be parished and have a town council or whether the current governance arrangements were enough or could be improved.

In 2019, the former Wycombe District Council carried out a CGR which was formally closed by Buckinghamshire Council in 2023. This was because, since that time, the new unitary council had been introduced and there has been a review of Buckinghamshire's electoral boundaries.

These changes meant it was appropriate to start a fresh Community Governance Review.

On 24 January 2024, the Council decided that the High Wycombe CGR should focus on two questions.

Between 12 February and 7 April 2024, a consultation took place and the public were asked for their views on whether:

• A) the existing governance arrangements for the area of High Wycombe are sufficient or could be improved
• B) the currently unparished area of High Wycombe should be parished and have a town council for the whole area

All households in the unparished area of High Wycombe received a pack about the consultation, with a freepost reply form and opportunities to reply online.

The Terms of Reference for the review explained in more detail:

• why the review is happening
• what happens in the review
• how you can get involved

Read the High Wycombe Area Community Governance Review Terms of Reference (PDF, 229 KB)

On 18 September 2024, having considered all the evidence, we concluded that an improved version of the current arrangements was the most appropriate outcome (Option A).

We noted that there were few responses to the consultation and decided that there was more community interest in achieving real outcomes for the people of High Wycombe than in the introduction of a new level of local government.

The outcome of the review is that we:

• approved option A within the Terms of Reference to improve existing arrangements
• decided not to set up a parish or create a town council for the unparished areas of High Wycombe
• recognise that the current arrangements that include the High Wycombe Town Committee, the High Wycombe Charter Trustees and High Wycombe Community Board are enough
• commit to the continuous improvement of the current governance arrangements and will review of the remit and operation of the High Wycombe Town Committee to make sure it's in a better position to respond to local issues
• communicate the feedback received from residents about the need for public realm improvements to High Wycombe Town Centre to both the High Wycombe Town Committee and the Cabinet

View the final recommendations PDF, 414KB.

• Appendix 1, Terms of Reference PDF, 229KB
• Appendix 2, Consultation and engagement plan PDF, 152KB
• Appendix 3, Consultation analysis report PDF, 982KB
• Appendix 4, Electorate for new wards from May 2025 PDF, 49.5KB
• Appendix 5, Map of unparished areas in High Wycombe PDF, 0.99MB