districts to set up their own town councils and run services locally.
Conversations are already taking place between councillors and residents over which part of the city could be next to hold a referendum and demand greater independence from the council.
Last week almost 70 per cent of Sutton Coldfield residents voted to set up Britain’s largest town council with responsibility for a range of facilities including parks, community halls, litter collection, footpaths, tourism and war memorials.
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Supporters of the town council argue it will also have influence over planning applications, licensing policies and transport services.
It is also remarkable the royal town enthusiastically voted for the extra tier of local government even though residents knew each household will pay, on average, an extra £50 a year on its council tax.
With the postal referendum having proved a huge success, the Birmingham Post understands other areas are looking to follow suit.
Recent changes to Birmingham City Council in the wake of the damning Kerslake report have seen the authority become more centralised and local councillors stripped of responsibility for services. As a result some councillors see a town council as a way to seize back some power.
Sutton Coldfield councillor Rob Pocock (Lab), who campaigned for the town council, said: “The stunning result of this ballot has shown that people want greater local democracy and will pay a bit more if they believe they can control their own money and use it to benefit their own community. There is a wider lesson here for big cities that are getting increasingly remote from their citizens. Break up the centralisation, and reconstruct local services at local level, democratically accountable to local people.
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“This is the way to plug the ‘Kerslake Gap’ and win back public confidence in local public services.”
Shard End is considering a “community council” and Labour and Lib Dem leaders on forward.
The emergence of the town council has also been a factor in the decision by the Local Government Boundary Commission to reduce the number of city councillors from 120 to 100 in 2018. Other areas will therefore be encouraged to form town or community councils to close the wider gap in representation.
Meanwhile, the group which campaigned for a Sutton Coldfield Town Council has urged residents to consider standing for the new authority when it launches in two years.
Sutton Coldfield Referendum Group chairman Ken Rushton said: “Many residents indicated they want independent town councillors to stand, who are active in the local community or knowledgable about specific areas such as finance or planning but are not tied to a political party.
“We hope the candidates will be fresh thinking. We would like the main parties to respect an independent approach.”
Mr Rushton said the group was already planning a Royal Sutton Coldfield Town in Bloom project and was talking to the successful Shrewsbury Town Council about opportunities to raise money beyond the council tax precept.
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He said: “The reason we wanted this is Sutton Coldfield is not getting any funding and have decided that we will have to do ourselves.”
Almost 70 per cent of those who voted in the postal referendum chose to set up a directly elected town council. There was a strong turnout of 39.6 per cent of residents in the royal town which is higher than in many local elections.
to legally establish the new organisation in September and agree a timetable for elections and the handover of responsibilities.
It is expected to take about two years to set the council up which is likely to have 20 and 30 councillors.