- Thousands of households currently in Woodmansey are being moved into Beverley following a boundary expansion originally sought by Beverley Town Council.
- East Riding Council has told Beverley Review that 4,447 properties will transfer and the new boundaries will apply for Council Tax precepts from 1 April 2027.
- The current Band D parish charge is £15.98 in Woodmansey compared with £68.57 in Beverley, a difference of £52.59 and equivalent to 329% of the current Woodmansey charge.
- Woodmansey Parish Council opposed the change, arguing it had invested in and served these communities and questioning whether residents wanted to leave Woodmansey.
- Public engagement was extremely limited at an early stage, with Woodmansey recording its understanding that just 12 residents had responded.
- East Riding Council has told Beverley Review it expects no transitional arrangements, while the amount affected households will actually pay from April 2027 remains unknown.
COUNTRY HALL – Something significant is about to happen to thousands of households on the southern edge of Beverley.
From next year, 4,447 properties currently within Woodmansey Parish will become part of Beverley for local government purposes. Residents who have been represented by Woodmansey Parish Council and paid towards its services through their Council Tax will instead fall within Beverley Town Council.
The change did not originate simply as an administrative tidying-up exercise by East Riding Council. Beverley Review has traced the proposal through council records and found that Beverley Town Council itself actively sought an expansion of the town’s boundaries into Woodmansey.
There are understandable arguments for doing so. Beverley has grown and some neighbourhoods technically within Woodmansey now look and feel like part of Beverley.
But Beverley Town Council’s case also explicitly referred to money, arguing that residents benefited from Beverley services while “their parish precept goes to Woodmansey Parish Council.”
Four years later, that reference to the precept has become considerably more important.
Beverley Review asked East Riding Council for the current figures. ERYC told us that the 2026/27 Band D precept is £15.98 in Woodmansey and £68.57 in Beverley.
The current difference is £52.59.
For residents unfamiliar with local government finance, the precept is simply the part of your Council Tax bill which pays for your town or parish council. We are not suggesting anyone’s entire Council Tax bill is about to increase by 329%.
Nor can we say that affected households will definitely pay £52.59 more from next April. Both councils still have to set their 2027/28 budgets and the addition of thousands of properties to Beverley’s Council Tax base could change its charge.
An increase for households moving from Woodmansey into Beverley is, however, clearly possible.
Beverley Review has therefore examined the original Town Council decisions, Woodmansey’s objections and East Riding Council’s Community Governance Review, and then put detailed questions directly to ERYC about the number of properties affected, current precepts, transitional arrangements and exactly when the financial change will happen.
The answers leave important questions about what residents understood when the change was decided and what it will ultimately cost them.
How the push for a Greater Beverley began
Beverley Review has examined Beverley Town Council’s minutes from 2022 to establish how the proposal developed.
On 21 March 2022, Beverley Town Council considered East Riding Council’s forthcoming Community Governance Review.
The motion was proposed by Councillor Tom Astell, a Liberal Democrat, and seconded by Councillor Chloe Hopkins, Labour.
Beverley Town Council supports the creation of a ‘Greater Beverley’ Town Council which includes Molescroft and those sections of Woodmansey which are attached to Beverley, leaving Woodmansey Parish Council covering the actual village of Woodmansey.”
The Town Council agreed “in principle to a Community Governance Review” and decided that councillors would meet to develop proposals before bringing them back to Full Council.
A Community Governance Review allows a council to examine arrangements at town and parish level. It can change boundaries, representation and which town or parish council covers particular communities.
Councillors met informally during April and the resulting proposal returned to Full Council on 25 April 2022.
The minutes record a proposal for what Beverley Town Council itself called a “Greater Beverley”.
The motion was proposed by Councillor Duncan Jack, then an Independent, and seconded by Councillor Alison Healy, who subsequently stood successfully for the Liberal Democrats.
It stated:
“Beverley Town Council supports the creation of a ‘Greater Beverley’ Town Council which includes Molescroft and those sections of Woodmansey which are attached to Beverley, leaving Woodmansey Parish Council covering the actual village of Woodmansey.”
If Molescroft wished to retain its separate identity, the motion envisaged an alternative arrangement involving Beverley and Molescroft while still incorporating the southern parts then within Woodmansey into Beverley.
The motion was carried and became Beverley Town Council’s formal position.
The transfer was therefore not simply a boundary adjustment dreamed up at County Hall. Beverley Town Council had formally argued for its area to expand into parts of Woodmansey.
Woodmansey fought the proposals
Woodmansey Parish Council took a very different view.
Beverley Review’s examination of its records shows councillors there strongly opposed the transfer.
Woodmansey challenged proposals affecting large parts of the Victoria and Minster View wards and the northern part of Nurseries ward.
It questioned both the justification for the changes and the evidence of public support.
Woodmansey said it understood that only 12 residents had responded to the initial consultation and argued there was no evidence at that stage showing residents in the affected areas wanted to leave Woodmansey and join Beverley.
It stated:
“There is no evidence to suggest that residents of the affected wards wish to transfer to Beverley Town Council.”
Woodmansey also pointed to services and investment it said it had provided across these communities, including playgrounds, community grants, allotments, street furniture and work with Keldmarsh School.
It called for stronger evidence of residents’ views and sought a referendum because of the scale of the proposed change.
The referendum did not happen. The boundary change was subsequently approved.
There is an important qualification to the figure of 12. It is Woodmansey Parish Council’s recorded understanding of participation at that stage of the process. Beverley Review has not independently established that figure from ERYC’s complete consultation records.
There was subsequently a second phase of formal public consultation in 2023.
“There is no evidence to suggest that residents of the affected wards wish to transfer to Beverley Town Council.”
The process therefore went through published meetings, consultation and the proper local government procedures. There is no evidence that the change was decided secretly or outside those procedures.
What the records show is very limited public participation at an important early stage in a process which will ultimately move 4,447 properties between local councils.
What were residents told about Council Tax?
Beverley Review has examined East Riding Council’s published Community Governance Review material to understand how the consequences were explained to residents.
The consultation set out the proposed changes to local governance and parish boundaries and invited residents to give their views.
What Beverley Review has not found in the published consultation material we examined is a clear explanation that moving a property from one parish to another could also change the town or parish council charge appearing on that household’s Council Tax bill.
That is potentially significant because Beverley and Woodmansey currently charge very different amounts.
It does not prove that the financial implications were never communicated elsewhere. There may have been correspondence, supporting papers or other information provided to residents which Beverley Review has not seen.
We have therefore asked whether the potential Council Tax implications were specifically assessed or communicated to residents during the Community Governance Review.
We asked ERYC exactly how many homes are affected
A line on a boundary map does not convey the scale of what is happening.
Beverley Review therefore asked East Riding Council exactly how many properties will transfer and requested a breakdown by Council Tax band.
ERYC provided the following figures directly to Beverley Review:
Band A: 72
Band B: 562
Band C: 1,318
Band D: 1,326
Band E: 821
Band F: 38
Band G: 6
New properties not yet banded by HMRC: 304
That makes 4,447 properties in total.
We then asked when those households would start paying the Beverley rather than Woodmansey town or parish council precept.
The wider governance arrangements are connected with the ordinary local elections in May 2027.
For Council Tax, however, the important date comes earlier.
After Beverley Review asked specifically when the new boundaries would apply for precept purposes, East Riding Council’s finance team told us they will apply from 1 April 2027.
For affected residents, the financial consequences therefore begin before the May elections.
Will residents get any transitional protection?
Given the considerable difference between the two current precepts, Beverley Review also asked whether households would move gradually from one council’s charge to another or receive some form of transitional arrangement.
East Riding Council told Beverley Review:
“As far as the East Riding of Yorkshire Council is concerned there is no overlap of precepts.”
Its finance team added that ERYC is “not expecting any transitional arrangements or apportionments.”
In straightforward terms, East Riding Council is not expecting a special temporary rate to protect households moving from the currently cheaper Woodmansey precept into Beverley.
So what could it actually cost residents?
Beverley Review asked East Riding Council to confirm the current Band D precept for both councils so residents could see the comparison for themselves.
ERYC told us:
Woodmansey Parish Council: £15.98
Beverley Town Council: £68.57
Difference: £52.59
The £52.59 difference is equivalent to 329% of Woodmansey’s current charge. Another way of expressing it is that Beverley’s current Band D precept is around 4.3 times Woodmansey’s.
These figures relate only to the town or parish council part of the overall Council Tax bill.
If today’s rates were simply carried forward, a Band D property transferring into Beverley would pay £52.59 more towards this element of its Council Tax.
“As far as the East Riding of Yorkshire Council is concerned there is no overlap of precepts.”
But £52.59 is not a confirmed increase for 2027/28.
Beverley Review specifically asked East Riding Council whether it would be correct to calculate the additional Council Tax caused by the boundary change simply by taking the difference between today’s Woodmansey and Beverley rates.
ERYC would not confirm that.
It told Beverley Review that the amount of precept charged, and whether that amount changes because of the boundary changes, is a matter for Beverley Town Council and Woodmansey Parish Council.
East Riding Council has therefore been able to tell us how many properties are moving, when the new precept boundaries will apply and that it expects no transitional arrangements.
It cannot yet tell affected households what they will actually pay.
Why the Beverley charge could fall
There is a significant reason why the eventual difference could be smaller than £52.59.
Beverley Town Council is gaining 4,447 properties.
A town or parish council decides how much money it requires through its budget and raises its precept against its Council Tax base. The actual calculation involves different property bands, discounts and other factors, but thousands more properties will be contributing towards Beverley Town Council’s finances.
If Beverley Town Council’s spending requirement remained broadly similar while its Council Tax base became substantially larger, its Band D charge could fall.
Residents moving from Woodmansey could therefore face a considerably smaller increase than the current £52.59 difference suggests.
That is one of the key figures Beverley Review will be watching when the 2027/28 budget is determined.
How residents could end up paying substantially more
There is another possible outcome.
Beverley Town Council may decide that representing a significantly enlarged town, providing services across it or taking responsibility for additional assets requires more spending.
If its total budget increased alongside its larger tax base, the Band D charge might remain closer to its current level.
If Beverley’s Band D figure remained around £68.57, a household transferring from Woodmansey would face something close to today’s £52.59 difference.
If Beverley’s Band D precept increased, the difference could be greater.
There could also be consequences for residents who remain within Woodmansey.
Woodmansey Parish Council will lose thousands of properties which currently contribute towards its finances. Its future precept will depend on its new Council Tax base and the budget and services the Parish Council decides it needs after the boundary changes.
Both councils therefore face significant financial decisions before April 2027.
Did residents understand what was being decided?
There is a reasonable argument for changing Beverley’s historic boundaries.
The town has expanded considerably and development to the south has blurred the distinction between Beverley and areas historically within Woodmansey Parish. For some residents, becoming part of Beverley may make geographical and community sense.
Beverley Town Council actively supported bringing these areas into Beverley.
Its argument explicitly referred to residents benefiting from Beverley services while their precept went to Woodmansey.
Woodmansey Parish Council opposed losing them. It argued that it had invested in and served these communities and challenged the evidence that residents actually wanted the change.
East Riding Council subsequently carried out the formal Community Governance Review and public consultation.
Beverley Review has not found in the published consultation material we examined a clear explanation of the potential effect on the town or parish council element of residents’ Council Tax bills.
Nor have we identified in the council records examined a clear public financial assessment from 2022 setting out what transferring from Woodmansey to Beverley could mean for those households.
Those are reasonable questions to ask now because the financial consequences are approaching.
What Beverley Review has established
By going back through the original council records and then putting specific questions to East Riding Council, Beverley Review has been able to establish considerably more about what is going to happen.
There are 4,447 properties affected.
Beverley Town Council formally supported expanding into parts of Woodmansey.
Its case explicitly referred to the precept from those properties being paid to Woodmansey.
Woodmansey Parish Council opposed the proposals and questioned the evidence of resident support.
After Beverley Review asked when the change would affect Council Tax, ERYC’s finance team told us the new boundaries will apply for precept purposes from 1 April 2027.
When we asked about transitional protection, East Riding Council told Beverley Review it expects no transitional arrangements or apportionments.
When we requested the current figures, ERYC confirmed the Band D charges are £15.98 in Woodmansey and £68.57 in Beverley.
The current difference is £52.59.
And our examination of the published Community Governance Review material has not found a clear explanation warning affected residents that changing parish could change the local council charge appearing on their Council Tax bill.
What we still need to know
The biggest unanswered question is the one most residents will probably care about.
What will they actually pay from April 2027?
Beverley Review has asked Beverley Town Council whether it has modelled the effect of adding 4,447 properties to its Council Tax base and what the enlarged area could mean for its 2027/28 Band D charge.
We have also asked whether any assessment of the potential Council Tax consequences for transferring residents was undertaken when the Town Council supported the Greater Beverley proposal in 2022.
We are asking East Riding Council whether those potential financial consequences were assessed or communicated during the Community Governance Review.
Woodmansey Parish Council is being asked what losing such a significant number of properties could mean for its finances and for households remaining within the parish.
Their responses will be published.
The definitive figures will emerge when the councils determine their 2027/28 budgets and precepts.
Why Beverley Review is investigating this
There is no evidence that the boundary change was agreed secretly or outside the proper democratic process.
There is also no basis for telling 4,447 households that they will definitely pay £52.59 more.
A higher Beverley precept does not automatically mean poor value. Beverley and Woodmansey are different councils with different budgets, services and responsibilities.
But the facts we have established leave legitimate questions about scrutiny, public awareness and accountability.
Thousands of households are being moved from one local council area to another following an expansion originally sought by Beverley Town Council.
Woodmansey opposed it.
Public engagement appears to have been extremely limited at an important early stage.
Beverley Town Council’s original argument itself referred to the fact that the precept from these households went to Woodmansey.
The current difference between the two Band D precepts is £52.59.
East Riding Council has told Beverley Review that it expects no transitional arrangements.
And the actual financial consequence for those residents remains unknown only months before the new arrangements begin.
Beverley Review will continue examining the records, asking the councils for answers and following the 2027/28 budget decisions until that figure is known.
Residents should not have to work their way through years of council minutes, consultation documents, boundary maps and local government finance to discover that something affecting their representation and potentially their Council Tax is about to happen.
That is our job.
Does this affect you?
The boundary changes affect thousands of properties currently within Woodmansey Parish, particularly areas adjoining the existing Beverley boundary.
East Riding Council has published its Community Governance Review material and boundary proposals so residents can check the areas affected and see how the changes developed.
For Council Tax purposes, East Riding Council’s finance team has told Beverley Review that the new precept boundaries will apply from 1 April 2027.
If your property is among those transferring, the exact amount you will pay towards Beverley Town Council in 2027/28 is not yet known.
Beverley Review will publish the responses from Beverley Town Council, Woodmansey Parish Council and East Riding Council, and will report the new precept figures when the councils make their budget decisions.
For thousands of households, this stopped being an obscure argument about lines on a council map the moment those lines started having the potential to change what appears on their Council Tax bills.