Frodsham Town Council to Shrink to 12 Seats Despite Its U-Turn

Frodsham Town Council should drop from 16 councillors to 12 at the May 2027 elections, Cheshire West and Chester’s Community Governance Review Committee has decided. The committee backed the cut on 3 November, although the town council voted in September to oppose it.

The committee kept Frodsham’s four wards, as the town council had asked. The printed minutes were published on Tuesday.

Neighbouring Helsby is set for the same change. Its parish council asked for the reduction itself, and no one objected.

Frodsham is about ten miles north east of Chester. Helsby is about two miles west of Frodsham, on the A56.

What the committee decided for Frodsham

The committee’s recommendations go next to the Audit and Governance Committee on 17 November, and then to Full Council for the final decision. The report for that meeting recommends:

• 12 town councillors from May 2027, split equally over the four parish wards
• no change to the name, boundaries or style of the town council
• the council is not abolished or merged
• the change takes effect through a formal order from May 2027

Why it went ahead without the town council’s support

Frodsham Town Council asked for the review itself. On 22 September 2025 it voted to request a cut from 16 to 12 seats, because it had struggled to fill all its seats.

On 28 September 2026 it changed its mind. It wrote to the borough council the day before the final consultation closed, opposing both the cut and the loss of its wards.

The committee weighed that against three rounds of consultation. The largest, sent to every household, drew these replies:

The final, lighter consultation was closer: 10 for the cut, 6 against and 2 unsure. On scrapping the wards, 10 said yes and 12 said no.

Two town councillors spoke against the cut at the meeting. Cllr Cliff Hughes said fewer councillors could make it harder to run the town’s events, and that a smaller council risked becoming more political. Cllr Graham Wood said the town council’s preference was to keep 16 seats and its wards.

A resident, Ian Parkin, urged the committee to respect the consultation. He said the town council had asked for the review voluntarily because it could not fill its seats.

The minutes record that members gave weight to the residents who replied, “and not just Frodsham Town Council’s views”. They noted 12 seats is within the national guidance range for a town of Frodsham’s size, and said a smaller council could be more sustainable and easier to fill. They also suggested the town council could recruit volunteers to help run its events.

Helsby: 15 seats down to 12

Helsby Parish Council wrote to the borough council because it was having difficulty finding enough people to stand. The Audit and Governance report recommends cutting it from 15 councillors to 12 from May 2027.

Its three wards stay, each dropping from five councillors to four:

No objections were received in any of the three consultations. The Community Governance Review Committee approved the recommendation on 12 October.

Three houses move parish near Farndon

The same meeting will consider a smaller change south of Chester. A third report recommends redrawing the boundary between Churton and Farndon to the southern side of Marsh Lane.

Three properties would move from Farndon parish into Churton: The Cottage, Royalty Cottage and The Barnyard. Both parish councils and the residents of all three support it. The report says the parish precept they pay would stay broadly the same.

What it means for you

If you live in Frodsham or Helsby, there will be fewer seats on the ballot paper at the parish elections in May 2027. Your ward and its boundaries stay the same.

Nothing is final until Full Council votes. The Audit and Governance Committee meets at 6pm on 17 November, and its papers are online.

Our earlier report on how the Frodsham review unfolded has the full background.