| Queen's Park Community Council | |
| Coa Res: | 100px |
| Coa Caption: | Coat of arms |
| Logo Pic: | Queen's Park Community Council logo.png |
| Logo Res: | 150px |
| Logo Alt: | Logo showing a block of flats, a house, people and a tree |
| House Type: | Parish council |
| Houses: | Unicameral |
| Term Length: | 4 years |
| Leader1 Type: | Chair of Council |
| Leader1: | Eartha Pond |
| Leader2 Type: | Director |
| Leader2: | Shuwanna Aaron |
| Members: | 12 councillors |
| Seats1 Title: | Independent |
| Voting System1: | Plurality-at-large |
| First Election1: | May 2014 |
| Last Election1: | May 2022 |
| Next Election1: | May 2026 |
| Session Res: | 200px |
| Meeting Place: | Beethoven Centre |
Queen's Park Community Council (QPCC) is the parish council for the civil parish of Queen's Park in the City of Westminster. The council was the first to be formed in Greater London and remains the only one. It was established on 1 April 2014 following a referendum of residents in 2012. Elections to the community council are held every four years and coincide with Westminster City Council elections. The first election of 12 councillors from four wards took place on 22 May 2014.
Parish councils were established in England in 1894.[1] They had been eliminated from the London area by 1936 and were not permitted in Greater London when it was created in 1965.[2] The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 permitted the creation of parish councils in the 32 London boroughs and permitted the alternative naming style of community council. A referendum was held in the Queen's Park ward of Westminster in 2012 to gauge support for a new parish council and it was approved by Westminster City Council in May 2012.[3] The council was created on 1 April 2014 as part of the City of Westminster (Reorganisation of Community Governance) Order 2013.[4] The first elections took place on 22 May 2014 and then every four years to coincide with the Westminster City Council elections.
The Council elects a Chair at its Annual Meeting in May of each year and the current holder of that post is Eartha Pond.
Previous holders have been:
| Name | Term | |
|---|---|---|
| Eartha Pond | 2022 - ~ | |
| John McArdle | 2020 - 2022 | |
| Gill Fitzhugh | 2018 - 2020 | |
| Susanna Rustin | 2016 - 2018 | |
| Angeal Singhate, | 2014 - 2016 |
A casual vacancy arising in January 2024 was filled by the council by the co-option of Afsana Aktar on 22 May 202.
A casual vacancy arising in September 2023 was filled by the council by the co-option of Shifaa Ali on 15 November 2023.[5]
Elections to Queen's Park Community Council were held on 5 May 2022 alongside the 2022 Westminster City Council election. Nine candidates were returned unopposed in the QPA, QPC and QPD wards, while the QPB ward was contested returning the votes shown below. The community council was counted at the same time as the city council seats.[6] [7]
A casual vacancy arising from not enough candidates standing for ward QPB at the May 2018 election was filled by the co-option of Alfrena Barbe by the council on 4 June 2018.[8]
Elections to Queen's Park Community Council were held on 3 May 2018 alongside the 2018 Westminster City Council election. Eight candidates were returned unopposed in wards QPA, QPB and QPD. The QPC ward was contested returning the votes shown below. The community council was counted at the same time as the city council seats.[9]
A casual vacancy arising in July 2017 was filled by the council by the co-option of Nasima Khanom on 20 September 2017.[10]
Electors went to the polls on 22 May 2014 for the newly established Queen's Park Community Council with both votes cast and results counted at the same time as the 2014 Westminster City Council election. The community council is non party-political with all candidates standing as ‘independents’. Three candidates were elected to each of wards QPA and QPB and three returned unopposed for each of QPC and QPD.[11]
The referendum was held during May 2012.