A BOUNDARY review called for by more than 550 Hagley residents, represented by Clent Parish Council, has been given the go-ahead.
It comes after a petition was submitted, earlier this year, to Bromsgrove District Council with enough signatures to legally trigger its statutory duty to carry out a Community Governance Review, costing £4,500.
The decision was made at the latest full council meeting much to the delight of the Hagley Residents Action Group (HRAG) which has been tirelessly campaigning for it.
The consultation will look into the proposed transfer and the existing boundary, its feasibility, the division of each parish council into wards and the number of parish council members per ward.
Peter Rowbottom, from the Hagley Residents Action Group, said the group welcomed the decision.
He added on a daily basis the vast majority of people living in the area spent their lives in Hagley and yet continued to pay money to the Clent Parish although they used all the services provided by Hagley Parish Council.
Mr Rowbottom said HRAG leafleted all the homes in the proposed transfer area and then petitioned more than 80 per cent of them on the doorstep.
And, around 85 per cent of the some 650 adults asked signed the petition which showed an overwhelming majority in favour of such a change, he added.
Mr Rowbottom said: “This places an unfair burden on Hagley Parish Council which provides facilities to some villagers without receiving their precept.
“We now look forward to the council carrying out an open and transparent review so ultimately a fair and reasonable decision can be made on this matter which reflects the wishes of local people.”
During the meeting Coun Mike Webb, who is responsible for finance, said they had been left with no option but to give the go-ahead for the review.
Coun Luke Mallett added although it would cost the authority thousands of pounds there was nothing they could do about it.
