Part 17 of the Local Government Act 2001 provides that qualified electors of a town having a population of at least 7,500, as ascertained at the last preceding census and not having a town council, may make a proposal for the establishment of such a council. Under the relevant provisions of the Act, which I hope to commence in the near future, a proposal to establish a town council, and the timing of any such proposal, is a matter for the local community in the first instance, with a decision on such a proposal being a reserved function of the relevant county council, following a public consultation process. However, Part 17 also allows for the first elections to new town councils to proceed independently of the normal local election cycle.