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.

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.

Contents

Handing in a paper petition

Petition template

Once completed you can either:
  • give the petition to your local ward councillor
    		•
    call 01256 844844 to be presented at a council meeting
    send it to:
    Democratic Services
    Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
    Civic Offices
    London Road
    Basingstoke
    RG21 4AH
    Next What happens next

    Contact details

    Democratic services team

    Email: democratic.services@basingstoke.gov.uk

    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.

    Previous Handing in a paper petition Next The petition process

    The petition process

    The council has a detailed policy setting out how we handle petitions.

    Petition Scheme 2014 - updated 18 June 2019

    Introduction
    A document will be treated as a petition if it is identified as such, or if it seems that it is intended to be a petition, subject only to the qualification in the following paragraph.
    A petition is a document submitted to the Council spontaneously by the public i.e. without any request from the Council. If the Council carries out a public consultation exercise, and receives a mass response to it, that response will be dealt with as part of the consultation, rather than as a petition.

    Petitions can be sent to the Council and may be presented to:
    a) a meeting of the Council
    b) a meeting of Cabinet
    c) one of the Council Committees
    d) the Chief Executive
    A petition may be presented by the petitioner organiser or by a councillor on the petitioners' behalf.
    Guidelines for submitting a petition
    All petitions must include:

    a) A clear and concise statement covering the subject of the petition including what action the petitioners wish the Council to take

    b) The name and address, and signature, of any person supporting the petition

    Petitions must also be accompanied by contact details for the petition organiser including an address.
    Petitions may only be organised and signed by people who live, work or study in the borough area, including those under 18 years of age.
    Petitions which are considered by the Chief Executive to be vexatious, abusive or otherwise inappropriate will not be accepted. If, as determined by the Chief Executive, a petition does not follow the guidelines set out above, the Council may decide not to do anything further with it. In that case, the Chief Executive will write to the petition organiser explaining the reasons for that decision.
    The Council's response to a petition
    An acknowledgement will be sent to the petition organiser within 10 working days of receipt explaining what the Council intends to do in response to the petition. If the Council can do what the petition asks for, the acknowledgement may confirm that it has taken the action requested and the petition will be closed.

    The Council will consider what specific actions are available to address the issues highlighted in a petition and respond appropriately to the petition organiser. In the period commencing six weeks before an election the Council may need to deal with a petition differently. If this is the case officers will explain the reasons for this and discuss the revised timescale with the petition organiser.

    If a petition applies to a planning or licensing application, or a matter where there is already an existing right of appeal, such as council tax banding and non-domestic rates, other procedures apply. This petition process does not therefore apply in these cases. However, all petitions relating to planning applications will be reported to councillors and referred to in the officer’s report to the Council’s Development Control Committee.
    If a petition concerns a matter over which the Council has no direct control it will consider
    making representations on behalf of the community to the relevant body. If it is not able to
    do this for any reason (for example if what the petition calls for conflicts with Council policy), then the Council will explain the reasons for this to the petition organiser.
    Review of petitions
    If a petition organiser feels that the Council has not dealt with the petition properly, s/he has the right to request that the relevant Overview Committee reviews the steps that the Council has taken in response to the petition. The petition organiser may be invited to address the meeting.

    If the Committee decides that a petition has not been dealt with adequately, it may use any of its powers to deal with the matter, including instigating an investigation, making recommendations to the Cabinet, or arranging for the matter to be considered at a meeting of full Council.

    Once the appeal has been considered the petition organiser will be informed of the results within five working days. The results of the review will also be published on the council’s website.
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