Chelmsford could lose city status if plans to create new parish area go ahead, according to recommendations

The cross-party working group warned that under current legislation, if the parish council proposal proceeded, Chelmsford would lose its city status when the council is abolished in 2028. Council Leader Cllr Stephen Robinson observed that Chelmsford is “proud of its city status” and wouldn’t want to lose it “on a technicality”.

City status is held by Chelmsford City Council and is not automatically retained or transferred to a new unitary authority.

Initially it was thought that Chelmsford’s city status could be given to a body known as ‘charter trustees’, who might then pass this on to a large central parish in the city centre.

However, according to the council, recent clarification from central government and separate legal advice has confirmed that city status can only be transferred to a parish with an area of the same footprint laid out in the original letters patent.

When Chelmsford became a city in 2012, its new status was granted through royal prerogative across the whole district. Advice was also given that charter trustees would not be permitted in a fully parished area.

If the council were to parish the only remaining unparished area, its city status would be lost upon re-organisation in 2028.

The central urban area of Chelmsford, which includes the city centre, is the only part of the district that does not have its own local parish council.

For this area, the most local representation is the city council, which is set to join Maldon, Brentwood and part of Essex County Council to form a bigger Mid Essex Council.

With these changes on the way, residents in the unparished area were asked if they would like some form of very local governance in future.

Cllr Stephen Robinson, Council Leader and Chair of the Connectivity and Local Democracy Working Group said: “With LGR making council areas bigger across England, many unparished areas in cities throughout the country are being asked if they would like a parish council focused solely on their area, providing services like street bins, allotments and community centres.

“For Chelmsford, this process hasn’t been as straightforward as initially thought. Although many councils have been able to retain city status through reorganisation, our position is different. Recent advice has clarified that there is no known way for us to parish the whole district and retain city status.

“This information wasn’t known at the time of last year’s consultation and the unintended consequences of going ahead with this change would affect the whole district. Chelmsford is proud of its city status, and we don’t want to lose it on a technicality.”

In 1998, an apparent oversight in the creation of the unitary borough of Medway led to it failing to retain the city status formerly enjoyed by Rochester, one its constituent councils, for more than 600 years. It has since applied to for city status on five occasions without success.

Lottie Winson