Paper and online petitions
Find out how you can send and sign petitions, both electronically and on paper. The Petition Scheme provides more detail.
- Telephone: 01244 977076
- Email: petitions@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
- Address: Director of Governance, Cheshire West and Chester Council, The Portal, Wellington Road, Ellesmere Port, CH65 0BA
Your petition
All petitions sent or presented to the Council will be acknowledged within 10 working days of receipt.
This acknowledgement will set out how the petition will be dealt with. We will treat something as a petition if it is identified as being a petition, or if it seems to us that it is intended to be a petition.
Officers will make an initial decision on whether the petition is valid and appropriate according to the Petition Scheme. The final decision is made by the monitoring officer, whose terms of reference start at part 7 in section F2 of the Council's Constitution.
Presenting a petition to meetings of the full Council
Petitions with at least 100 signatures can also be presented to a meeting of the Council. These meetings take place at least six times a year and, dates and times can be found online:
If you would like to present your petition to the Council, or would like your Councillor or someone else to present it on your behalf, please contact Democratic Services at least 10 working days before the meeting and they will explain the process.
- Telephone: 01244 977076
- Email: democraticservices@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
Debates at meetings of the full Council
If a petition has received signatures of at least 1 per cent of the Borough population (approximately 3,430 in 2019 but the precise amount can be obtained from Democratic Services) it can be scheduled, if requested by the Lead Petitioner, for a full Council or Cabinet debate, providing all the signatures are submitted at the same time and that the subject is appropriate e.g. does not relate to a planning or licensing application. The Chief Executive and the Leader of the Council will determine which meeting it should go to.
If a petition has received signatures of at least 0.5 per cent of the Borough population (approximately 1,715 in 2019 but the precise number can be obtained from Democratic Services) it can be scheduled, should the Lead Petitioner request it, for consideration at Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
The Council's Privacy Policy applies to all Petitions.
Executive arrangements petitions
Residents of Cheshire West and Chester can submit a petition asking for an elected mayor for the Council, and if the number of signatures reaches five per cent of the electorate (Publication of Verification Number) a referendum must be held.
For more detail, see the Local authorities (referendums) (petitions and directions) (England) regulations 2000.