Welcome to the website of Audley Rural Parish Council which contains information about the Parish Council, the Councillors, the area it covers, Council meetings, minutes and agendas along with other useful information. If you have any comments to improve the site or pictures of the Parish that you would like to see on the website, please email the clerk@audleyparishcouncil.gov.uk
The Parish of Audley is the largest in area in the District of Newcastle-under-Lyme, covering some 2717 hectares. The Parish has a population of around 8000, 3800 houses and 150 businesses. It comprises 7 distinctly separate villages and many small hamlets. The council consists of 15 members and has one part time employee, the Parish Clerk.

Please click here to view the Parish Council Elections poster
This year, all Borough and Town/Parish elections are taking place, meaning that every current
councillor will retire and must reapply if they wish to stand again. There are 44 Borough seats and 122 Parish seats to be filled across the Borough. In 2022, there were 103 nominations for the Borough seats and 120 for the Parish seats. Of the 22 parish wards, only 5 were contested in 2022. Listed below are the Parish seats for 2026:
Audley Parish Council – Parish Wards (see below link to map of wards)
– Audley (Audley): 4 seats
– Audley (Bignall End): 6 seats
– Audley (Halmerend): 5 seats
Notices of election will be posted on Friday 27th March 2026. Nominations are invited through completing a nomination pack, which must be returned to the Elections Team at Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council (Castle House) by no later than 4pm on Thursday 9th April 2026.
Candidate Qualifications
Electoral Commission guidance states:
To be able to stand as a candidate at a town or parish council election, a person must:
• Be at least 18 years old
• Be a British citizen, an eligible Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, a
qualifying EU citizen (1) or an EU citizen with retained rights (2)
• And meet at least one of the following four qualifications:
- Be, and continue to be, registered as a local government elector for the town/parish
in which they wish to stand from the day of their nomination onwards. - Have occupied land or other premises as owner or tenant in the parish area during
the whole of the 12 months prior to the day of their nomination and the day of
election. - Have worked mainly or only during the 12 months prior to the day of their
nomination and the day of election within the parish area - Have lived in the parish area or within three miles of it during the whole of the 12
months before the day of nomination and day of election.
More detailed guidance can be found on the Electoral Commission website:
(1) An eligible Commonwealth citizen is a Commonwealth citizen who either does not need
leave or enter to remain in the United Kingdom or has indefinite leave to remain in the
United Kingdom.
(2) A qualifying EU citizen is a citizen of a country that has a bilateral Voting and Candidacy
Rights (VCR) treaty with the UK – currently Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and
Spain and is resident in the UK with any form of leave to remain or who does not require
such leave.
Please click here to view a map of the Parish Wards – Audley, Halmer End and Bignall End
Please click here to view the Nomination pack for Parish Councillor
The Association of Electoral Administrators have produced a guidance video explaining best practice on how nomination papers can be completed. This can be found at the following link:
https://elearning.easygenerator.com/7b134693-4beb-4ccc-9b70-72cb026e84f9/#/login
Please click here to view the Notice of Election – Parish Councillors 27 March 2026
Please click here to view the Notice of Election – Borough Councillors 27 March 2026

Please click here to find out how to register to vote in the next Local Elections (Parish and Borough) Thurs 7th May 2026

Following the “Yes” vote on 25th September 2025, the Neighbourhood Plan has now been adopted and will be used as planning policy by Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council when assessing Planning Applications.
You can see a copy of the Audley Rural Neighbourhood Plan here : Audley Rural Parish Neighbourhood Plan
The Audley Rural Neighbourhood Plan is supported by a number of documents as follows:
- A Design Guidance and Code for developers to refer to, which can be found here:
ANRP Design Code May 23 (PDF) - The 48 Local Green Space Information and Audit can be found here:
ARNP Local Green Space Audit Report Aug 2023 (PDF) - The Housing Needs Assessment can be found here:
ARNP Housing Needs Update Oct 23 (PDF) - The Consultation Outcomes can be found here:
ANRP Audley Infographics (PDF)
We also have a Staffordshire Wildlife Trust Natural Capital Assessment of the Parish which can be found here: Audley Parish – Natural Capital Assessment FINAL REPORT Oct 24
The link the results page is as follows:
- Results page: Audley neighbourhood planning referendum 2025 – Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council
- Downloadable file: https://www.newcastle-staffs.gov.uk/downloads/download/1363/declaration-of-results-for-audley-neighbourhood-planning-referendum-2025
Self employed contractors wanted – details below:
Please click here to view the Handyman advert as a PDF
Reporting matters to Staffordshire Police
If you see any thing of concern, do not wait please report it immediately to:
https://www.staffordshire.police.uk/ro/report/
Ring 101 or call 999 if it is urgent/in progress
You can also follow it up with an email to the Local Policing Team –
Sarah.Forrest@staffordshire.police.uk
Daniel.peake@staffordshire.police.uk
Please note that where there are cameras on the Parish Council play areas and in the village, the footage captured is used to support the investigations
If there is damage to the play areas – please also email clerk@audleyparishcouncil.gov.uk so that we can rectify any issues on the play areas
Illegal/Dangerous Parking in Audley (update Nov 2025)
We are continuing to work with the police who, over the last 12 months, have issued 18 Fixed Penalty Notices (3 points on licence and £100 fine) to drivers of cars parked illegally in Church Street Audley, this includes the white zig zag markings and zebra crossing. In addition a driver was summonsed to court for Driving without Due Care and Attention after nearly knocking over a pedestrian on the zebra crossing. The Police will take action when issues are reported and CCTV images will be used as evidence. Please report your concerns with as much detail as possible to 101 or online to Staffordshire Police at https://www.staffordshire.police.uk/ro/report/
Where to get help locally for Newcastle Foodbank

Door 2 Door Community Transport Scheme – Help for Audley Parish
Click this link to find out details about the new Door2Door Community Transport Scheme for Audley Rural Parish (PDF leaflet or by clicking this link to view the Door2Door Community Transport Scheme in Audley Rural Parish page
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