Get involved

Herefordshire Council welcomes petitions and recognises they are a valuable facility to enable issues affecting local communities to be highlighted. Through the petitions protocol the council is able to engage with local residents to understand local concerns and respond where appropriate. Petitions should relate to a matter for which the council is responsible. The information below provides detail of the rules the council applies to receive and accept petitions.

Petitions will be accepted from people who live, work or study in Herefordshire. To ensure a petition is accepted the following should be provided:

• A clear and concise statement outlining the subject matter of the petition and what action is sought from the council. The petition must concern local services for which the council is responsible.
• Details of the petition organiser including name and postal address. The organiser will be the point of contact for queries regarding the information submitted and will be sent the response from the council.
• The name and address of any person supporting the petition. To be accepted a petition needs to have the support of at least 15 people

A petition should be compiled under the principle of good faith and be honest and respectful. To avoid rejection, a petition should avoid the following:

• Language or statements which are defamatory, frivolous, vexatious, discriminatory, false, or otherwise offensive
• Requests to the council to disclose information as other processes exist to access information - see our Freedom of Information page
• Naming individuals, or providing information where they may be easily identified, for example individual officers of public bodies
• Accusations of criminality
• Advertising statements
• Reference to an issue which is currently the subject of a formal council complaint, Local Government Ombudsman complaint or any legal proceedings or
• Matters for which there are other statutory processes (such as planning or licensing applications, traffic regulation orders, or statutory petitions for a referendum)

In addition to applying the criteria above, the length of time a petition is open for signatures will also need to be determined. Most petitions on ePetition run for six months, but you can choose a shorter or longer period, within a maximum of 12 months.

There are four ways to submit a petition to the council. A petition can be posted, submitted online or handed to the chairman of the council. In addition the council also hosts an ePetitions facility to allow the creation and administration of petitions online.

Post: Please post your petition to Democratic Services Manager, Herefordshire Council, Plough Lane, Hereford HR4 0LE

Email: You can scan and submit your petition to councillorservices@herefordshire.gov.uk

In person: The Chairman of the Council is available to receive petitions before the start of each ordinary meeting of the full Council. During the meeting the petition will be formally passed to the relevant Cabinet Member or Committee Chairman. To arrange to meet the Chairman to present a petition please email councillorservices@herefordshire.gov.uk

ePetition: An online facility for running a petition. ePetition guidance on creating and running a petition is available on the site.