Villagers launch bid to break from council

Lilleshall is currently served by Lilleshall, Donnington and Muxton Parish Council.

But 340 people have signed a petition calling for a new council serving solely Lilleshall.

Campaigners argue that independence for the village would bring a number of benefits, including fewer councillors and more money to spend on local amenities.

Telford & Wrekin Council will carry out a review to see what the villagers think of the idea.

Phil Griffiths, Telford & Wrekin Council's democratic services manager, said: "There will be three months of consultation followed by our recommendations in June next year.

"We will look at consulting with residents particularly in Lilleshall but we will also be talking to people in Donnington and Muxton. We will look at whether the parish would be viable and whether the community would be served well by the proposal.

"Does Lilleshall stand alone as a community with identity? It's relatively small but we do have some small parishes in the borough."

The final decision will be made by a politically-balanced committee of councillors.

A public meeting will take place at Lilleshall Memorial Hall on October 14, 7.30pm.

This is the second time that a review has taken place after a group of residents made a similar plea for independence in 2009, when the local authority ruled that there were "no pressing reasons" for changing the wards.

Philip Hawkins, of Church Meadow, Lilleshall, who is leading the campaign, said: "But for the misinformed petitions raised during its first Community Governance Review, Lilleshall would have had a far more representative, inclusive and better funded community parish council since 2011. We would be sitting with about nine councillors behind a secure parish boundary as a satellite village of Newport alongside Church Aston and Edgmond."

Councillor Andrew Baker, the chairman of Lilleshall, Donnington and Muxton Parish Council, said the review would be expensive and must be acceptable to all involved.