Offerton Park

Offerton Park
Offerton Methodist Church
Offerton Park Location within Greater Manchester
OS grid reference	SJ917887
Metropolitan borough	Stockport
Metropolitan county	Greater Manchester
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	STOCKPORT
Postcode district	SK2
Dialling code	0161
Police	Greater Manchester
Fire	Greater Manchester
Ambulance	North West
UK Parliament	Hazel Grove
List of places UK England Greater Manchester 53°23′42″N2°07′26″W / 53.395°N 2.124°W / 53.395; -2.124

Offerton Park is an estate and former civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Stockport town centre. The parish boundaries excluded the area of Offerton Green further to the east. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 3,762. ^[1]

Creation

The parish of Offerton Estate was created in 2001 from part of an unparished area. ^[2] In 2006, the parish changed its name to Offerton Park. ^[3]

Abolition

In April 2010 Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council received two petitions from residents of the parish calling for its abolition. Under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 the council was obliged to carry out a community governance review. ^[4] Consultation showed that about 75% of the area's population favoured abolition, and in a poll held in July 2010 votes chose to abolish the parish council by 275 votes to 139. ^[5] Stockport Council duly made an order abolishing the parish with effect from 31 March 2011. ^[6]

The parish council initiated a judicial review, with the High Court ruling ^[7] in September 2011 that the borough council had acted unlawfully as fewer than 17% of electors had voted so that it could be claimed that "the majority of residents held no strong view either way..." and that there was no way to know whether "the public generally, as opposed to a section of it, wished to see the parish council, or the parish abolished." ^{[4] [8]}

The order abolishing the parish was therefore quashed, and Stockport Council was required to re-establish the parish council, with elections held on 8 December 2011. All ten seats on the parish council were won by the "No More Parish No More Bills" Group, who were pledged to abolish the parish. ^{[9] [10]}

The High Court ruling was subsequently overturned at the Court of Appeal in 2012, and Stockport Council's order abolishing the parish and its council with effect from 31 March 2011 was therefore reinstated. ^{[11] [12]}

References

1. Census 2001
2. "The Stockport (Parish) Order 2001 (S.I.2001/2553)" (PDF). Retrieved 16 March 2019.
3. "Greater Manchester. A complete list of orders affecting Greater Manchester from 1973 to the present". Local Government Boundary Commission for England.
4. "Local authority to appeal after High Court quashes abolition of parish council". Local Government Lawyer. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
5. "Offerton Parish Poll - Results". Stockport Council. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
6. "The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport (Reorganisation of Community Governance: Offerton Park) Order 2011" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
7. "[2011] EWHC 2247". BAILII. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
8. "High Court rules decision to scrap parish council was unlawful". Manchester Evening News. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
9. "Offerton Park Parish Council Election Results". Stockport Council. 10 December 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2012.^{[ dead link ‍]}
10. Devine, Peter (14 December 2011). "We've won control of the council – let's abolish it!". Stockport Express. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
11. "Council minutes, 22 November 2012". North Hertfordshire District Council. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
12. "Statement of Accounts" (PDF). Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council. p. 65. Retrieved 11 February 2025.

External links

• Offerton Park Parish Council