How to start a petition

If there is an issue in your area that you and other people in your community wish to raise with the council, which is not already the subject of a petition already submitted, you can start a new petition.

The template below can be used as the format to print out and fill in for a paper petition:

Petition template

Please ensure that you are clear about the topic of your petition; what it is about and what action you, and your fellow signatories, want the council to take.

Also you must identify the lead petitioner and give their contact details.

The lead petitioner is usually the person who started the petition and the reason that we need their contact details is so that we can let them know what has happened to the petition and what action will be taken.

Handing in a paper petition

Once completed, a paper petition can either be:

• given to your local ward councillor - find them on the borough councillors’ page
• presented at a council meeting - call 01256 844844
• delivered to:

Democratic Services
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
Civic Offices
London Road
Basingstoke
RG21 4AH

What happens next

If the petition is about something to do with one of our services or functions then it will be passed to the relevant Cabinet member, whose portfolio covers the topics concerned. With planning, licensing or other regulatory or standards issues, the petition will usually be in response to a consultation from the council and the petition will be handled in the same manner as other responses to the consultation.

A decision on whether any action can be taken on the issue raised and what action will be taken will usually be made within three months of a petition being handed in. Urgent issues may be quicker and a longer time may be agreed between the Cabinet member and the petitioners for more complex issues.

If the issue is something that is not a matter under the borough council’s control, we will pass the petition to the relevant organisation to deal with the matter and will ask to be kept up to date on what happens to it.

The petition process

The council has a detailed policy setting out how we handle petitions. The full document can be downloaded below.

Petitions Scheme 2014 - updated 18 June 2019(PDF) [16 kb]