Parish and Town councils
The third tier of Local Government

What is a Parish Council ?

A Parish or Town Council (which is essentially the same thing) is a local authority. It is part of local government and has to work in accordance with legislation passed by Parliament.

Although Parish Councils are local authorities they are very different from County, District, Metropolitan or Unitary Authorities. They are small and locally accountable. They represent an identifiable community. All their statutory powers, the things they can do, are discretionary, so the Council decides where it is important to act and use its resources.

So What Can Parish Councils Actually do?

Parish Councils have two roles. They are often involved in providing local facilities, such as sports fields, village halls and opens spaces, either on their own or in partnership with other bodies. They are also seen as increasingly important in representing the views and needs of local communities. They have a statutory right to be notified of all planning applications within the Parish boundary and are generally consulted, or at least informed of, a wide range of other issues.

A lot of relatively minor things such as providing seats, clearing footpaths and planting and landscaping work are done directly by Parish Councils. Bigger projects such as village halls, sports facilities and children's play areas often only get off the ground if the Parish Council puts some money in to start with which can then be used to unlock grants from organisations outside the Parish.

Apart from being notified of planning applications and having the right to comment on these, Parish Councils are entitled to appear at local and unitary development plan enquiries. There is now an expectation that major local authorities will consult Parish Councils on a wide range of their other activities. The existence of a Parish Council as an identifiable point of contact also means that information about the activities of many other organisations such as NHS Trusts and Central Government Departments is made available. Without a Parish Council the information of what these organisations are planning often only emerges too late to influence them.

All this sounds like more bureaucracy. Isn't it just another talking shop?

Parish Councils don't have high overhead costs. Most of them only employ someone to act as Clerk to the Council to carry out the routine administration, often on a part-time basis. It does not involve having lots of expensive office or a small army of staff. Even so they can take effective action within their own community and there are many good examples evident in parishes across the country.

Whilst Parish Councils do not directly make the major decisions that effect all our lives they are a body that larger outside organisations can, and usually do, deal with so there is an opportunity to make local views known. When somebody sitting in a District/Borough Council office makes a decision, the Parish Council will be able to use its unique local knowledge to help ensure that the needs and views of local people are actually taken into consideration.

How are Parish Councils Accountable?

The decisions of the Parish Council are made by elected Councillors. To be eligible to be a Parish Councillor you have to have a local connection. That means that Parish Councillors either live, or work, or have business interests in the Parish. Being a Parish Councillor doesn't have to take a great deal of time and is generally less about party politics than other levels of local government. That means almost anyone who wants to do so can make a commitment to be a Parish Councillor if they get local support. The meetings of the Council must generally be open to the public and most Parish Councils allow a session where the public can comment and ask questions. The meetings must be advertised in advance. There must also be an Annual Meeting for all the electors in the Parish each year. The Council takes this opportunity to report on what they have done and intend to do as well as a chance to listen to local people. Parish Councillors are elected for a four year term of office so the ultimate sanction of voting out an unpopular or unsuccessful group of Councillors exists. Parish Councils are also publicly audited and have to make copies of a statement of their accounts available.

Doesn't all this cost money?

No-one can pretend that Parish Councils are free because there is a cost. To raise money a Parish Council issues a precept which is added to Council Tax bills for everyone who pays Council Tax within the Parish. Because all their powers are discretionary the Council effectively decides how much money it will spend and therefore how much it will need to raise on the Council Tax. As the overhead costs are very low for Parish Councils most of the money goes directly into activities for the benefit of local people. The vast majority of the 7,500 parishes in England and Wales only make a modest charge against their taxpayers.

What can Parish Councils do?

The powers which have been vested in Parish Town, and Community Councils by Act of Parliament are summarised below. Each description is necessarily brief and is intended to be a general indication. Like all powers given to public bodies the powers of local councils are defined in legislation and these details may include a requirement to obtain the consent of another body (for example the approval of the county Council to the provision of a car park). Local Councils must exercise their powers also subject to the provisions of the general law (for example planning consent is necessary for a sports pavilion). Detailed information on all these details can be obtained through the Clerk to the Council.

The powers are listed alphabetically. Where a power is marked with an asterisk the council may, in addition to exercising the power itself, help another body to act by giving financial assistance.

Allotments Provision and maintenance of allotments for cultivation.

*Arts Developing and improving knowledge of the arts and the crafts which serve the arts

Baths Provision of baths and wash-houses (which in modern terms may mean a launderette)

Borrowing Parish, Town and Community Councils can borrow money for up to a maximum of 25 years with loan consent. The Council must have loan sanction consent before borrowing.

*Cemeteries Provision and maintenance of burial grounds, cemeteries, crematoria, mortuaries and post-mortem rooms.

Churchyards Power to contribute to the costs of a churchyard in use and duty to maintain any closed churchyard where the duty has been transferred by the Church of England.

*Clocks Provision and maintenance of public clocks, on churches or elsewhere.

Commons Power to protect any finally registered common which has no registered owner.

*Crime prevention installation of equipment and establishment of schemes for the detection or prevention of crime; making grants to, police authority for these purposes.

*Entertainments Provision of any form of public entertainment and any premises for giving entertainments. (This includes maintaining bands or orchestras and providing for dancing.)

*Halls Provision of buildings for public meetings and functions, for indoor sports or physical recreation, or for the use of clubs or societies having recreational, social or athletic objects.

Legal Proceedings Power to prosecute and defend any legal proceedings in the interests of the inhabitants. Power to take part in any public local inquiry.

Lighting Provision and maintenance of any footway lighting which lights roads or pavements provided the columns are not above specified heights.

*Litter Provision of litter-bins in streets and support for anti-litter campaigns

Open Spaces Provision and maintenance of public open spaces, pleasure grounds and public walks.

Parking Places Provision and management of car and cycle parks.

Parks provision and maintenance of public parks and appropriate facilities.

Planning Local councils have the right to be notified of any planning application affecting their area and to make comments which the planning authority must take into account.

*Playing Fields Provision and maintenance of land for any kind of outdoor recreation, including boating pools.

*Ponds Power to deal with ponds, pools, or other places containing filth or matter prejudicial to health.

Post and Telephone Power to guarantee the postal or telephone authorities against a loss on a facility.

Public Lavatories Provision and maintenance of public lavatories.

Rights of Way Maintenance of public footpaths and bridleways.

Roadside Verges Power to plant and maintain roadside verges.

*Seats Provision and maintenance of public seats on the highway

*Shelters Provision and maintenance of shelters for general public use and also particularly for bus passengers.

Signs Power to erect signs which warn of dangers or announce a place name, or indicate a bus stop.

*Swimming Provision of indoor or outdoor swimming pools or bathing places.

*Tourism Provision of facilities for conferences and encouragement of recreational and business tourism.

Traffic Calming contributions towards the cost of traffic calming works provided by the highways authorities.

*Transport establishment of car-sharing and taxi fare concession schemes; making grants for community bus services for the elderly or disabled; investigation of public transport, road and traffic provision and needs; provision of information about public transport services.

*Village Greens Power to maintain the village or town green.

General Expenditure Power In any situation not covered by one of the specific powers described above a council may spend money on any purpose which in its opinion is of direct benefit to its area or to the inhabitants. The total expenditure by the council on all cases under this general power must not in any financial year exceed £6.15 per local government elector in the parish town or community.

Your Parish Council is where local democracy begins

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