Petitions

ePetitions

You can create, sign and submit petitions online. The same procedures apply to these as paper petitions, but ePetitions can be published on the council website and are open to signatures for a specified period.

How will the council respond to petitions?

Our response to a petition will depend on what a petition asks for and how many people have signed it, but may include one or more of the following:

taking the action requested in the petition
considering the petition at a council meeting
undertaking research or holding an inquiry into the matter• holding a public meeting
holding a consultation
holding a meeting with petitioners
referring the petition for consideration by the council’s scrutiny committee
writing to the petition organiser setting out our views about the request in the petition

In addition to these steps, the council will consider all the specific actions it can potentially take on the issues highlighted in a petition.

Planning, Licensing and Statutory Petitions

If the petition applies to a planning or licensing application, or if it is a statutory petition (for example requesting a referendum on having a mayor) other procedures apply and we won’t necessarily apply the above procedure. For example, a petition on a planning application will be treated as a comment on that application through the standard planning application consultation process.Council’s petition scheme