The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield will elect its new council in May next year, it has been confirmed.

It means residents will have 24 new councillors to run a range of services such as street cleaning and parks as well as be consulted on planning.

It follows a referendum earlier this year in which 70 per cent of voters backed the new town council with powers devolved from Birmingham.

And Birmingham City Council leader Sir Albert Bore has said he is open to handing more powers to the fledgling council given the high level of support.

Birmingham councillors will vote on the town council proposals at their monthly meeting next Tuesday.

The plan is for an interim council to be set up in March, with eight of the town's 12 city councillors and several community and business representatives.

A full election will take place in May based on city council boundaries with a follow-up election in 2018 once new ward boundaries have been arranged.

Residents will be charged a precept on their council tax, with estimates of between £30 and £100 per year, to pay for the new council and its services.

Campaigners who battled for the town council said the large referendum vote gave them a mandate to demand greater powers, funding and responsibilities beyond the usual parks and bus stop-type parish council role.

They want greater influence over planning applications, school investment and roads and transport.

And Sir Albert said he was willing to negotiate with the new council.

"I expect that will happen and that would offer further encouragement to residents in other parts of the city to set up their own parish councils," he said.

Bizarrely, he explained the new body would officially be called a parish council but once established they could vote to change it to a town council.

The town used to have its own borough council until it became part of Birmingham City Council area in 1974.