What We Do

The role of Parish Council?

Within Cumbria there are 268 parishes covering the whole county, except Barrow town and Walney and the central urban area of the City of Carlisle. In 2015, both Penrith and Whitehaven elected to create new civil parishes, which will be known as Town Councils. Of these 268 parishes, 233 are served by a Town or Parish Council that is elected every four years and the remainder have a Parish Meeting that is required to meet at least twice a year. In Cumbria there are three tiers of local government – the County Council, District/Borough Councils and Town/Parish Councils and Parish Meetings.

Town and Parish Councils are an essential part of the structure of local democracy and have a vital role in acting on behalf of the communities they represent. They:

• give views, on behalf of the community, on planning applications and other proposals that affect the parish
• undertake projects and schemes that benefit local residents
• work in partnership with other bodies to achieve benefits for the parish
• alert relevant authorities to problems that arise or work that needs to be undertaken
• help the other tiers of local government keep in touch with their local communities.
• Town and Parish Councils have a wide range of legal duties and powers, such as the maintenance of community buildings and land and much more. They have the power to raise money through the local council tax.

Power and Duties table

Local Councils have a wide range of powers and duties. The following table taken from “The Good Councillor Guide” 2016 sets out the main ones; it is not a complete list of every single power and duty.

Parishes are the smallest areas of civil administration in England and their Town and Parish Councils provide the statutory tier of local government closest to the people. (Civil parishes should not be confused with Church of England ecclesiastical parishes and their Parochial Church Councils.)

Within Cumbria there are 268 parishes covering the whole county, except Barrow town and Walney and the central urban area of the City of Carlisle. In 2015, both Penrith and Whitehaven elected to create new civil parishes, which will be known as Town Councils. Of these 268 parishes, 233 are served by a Town or Parish Council that is elected every four years and the remainder have a Parish Meeting that is required to meet at least twice a year. In Cumbria there are three tiers of local government – the County Council, District/Borough Councils and Town/Parish Councils and Parish Meetings.

Town and Parish Councils are an essential part of the structure of local democracy and have a vital role in acting on behalf of the communities they represent. They:

• give views, on behalf of the community, on planning applications and other proposals that affect the parish
• undertake projects and schemes that benefit local residents
• work in partnership with other bodies to achieve benefits for the parish
• alert relevant authorities to problems that arise or work that needs to be undertaken
• help the other tiers of local government keep in touch with their local communities.

Town and Parish Councils have a wide range of legal duties and powers, such as the maintenance of community buildings and land and much more. They have the power to raise money through the local council tax.

Power and Duties table

Local Councils have a wide range of powers and duties. The following table taken from “The Good Councillor Guide” 2016 sets out the main ones; it is not a complete list of every single power and duty.

SCHEDULE OF POWERS AND DUTIES

ALLOTMENTS
Power to provide allotments. Duty to provide allotment gardens if demand unsatisfied and if reasonable to do so.
Statutory Provisions: Smallholdings & Allotments Act 1908, s.23

BORROWING MONEY
Power for councils to borrow money for their statutory functions or for the prudent management of their financial affairs.
Statutory Provisions: Local Government Act 2003, Schedule 1 para 2

BATHS (PUBLIC)
Power to provide public swimming baths
Statutory Provisions: Public Health Act 1936 s.221

BURIAL GROUNDS, CEMETERIES, AND CREMATORIA
Power to acquire and maintain. Power to provide. Power to contribute towards expenses of cemeteries.
Statutory Provisions: Open Spaces Act 1906, Sections 9 and 10. Local Government Act 1972, s.214, Local Government Act 1972, s.214(6).

BUS SHELTERS
Power to provide and maintain bus shelters.
Statutory Provisions: Local Government (Misc. shelters Prov.) Act 1953, s.4.

BYELAWS
Power to provide byelaws for: Places of public recreation, cycle parks public swimming baths, open spaces and burial grounds, mortuaries and post-mortem rooms.
Statutory Provisions: Public Health Act 1875 s.164, Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 s.57(7), Public Health Act 1936 s.223, Open Spaces Act 1906, s.15, Public Health Act 1936 s.198.

CHARITIES
Duties in respect of parochial charities. Power to act as charity trustees.
Statutory Provisions: Charities Act 2011 ss.;298-303.

CLOCKS
Power to provide public clocks.
Statutory Provisions: Parish Councils Act 1957.

CLOSED CHURCHYARDS
Powers to maintain.
Statutory Provisions: LGA 1972 s.215.

COMMONS AND COMMON PASTURES
Powers in relation to inclosure, regulation, and management and provision of common pasture.
Statutory Provisions: Inclosure Act 1845, Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908, s.34.

COMMUNITY CENTRES
Power to provide and equip buildings for use of clubs, having athletic, social, or educational objectives. Power to acquire, provide, and furnish community buildings for public meetings and assemblies.
Statutory Provisions: Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 s.19. Local Government Act 1972, s.133.

CONFERENCE FACILITIES
Power to provide and encourage the use of facilities.
Statutory Provisions: Local Government Act 1972, s.144.

CRIME PREVENTION
Power to spend money on crime detection and prevention measures.
Statutory Provisions: Local Government and Rating Act 1997, s.31.

DITCHES AND PONDS
Power to drain and maintain ponds and ditches to prevent harm to public health.
Statutory Provisions: Public Health Act 1936, s.260.

ENTERTAINMENT AND THE ARTS
Provision of entertainment and support of the arts.
Statutory Provisions: LGA 1972, S.145.

ENVIRONMENT
Power to issue fixed penalty notice for litter, graffiti and offences under dog control orders.
Statutory Provisions: Clean neighborhoods and Environment Act 2005, s.19 s.30 Part 6.

THE “FREE RESOURCE”
Power to spend a sum of money for the benefit of some or all of the parishioners. The expenditure must be commensurate with the benefit.
Statutory Provisions: Local Government Act 1972 s.137.

GENERAL POWER OF COMPETENCE
Power for an eligible council to do anything subject to statutory prohibitions, restrictions, and limitations which include those in place before or after the introduction of the general power to competence.
Statutory Provisions: Localism Act 2011, s.1-8.

GIFTS
Power to accept gifts.
Statutory Provisions: LGA 1972, s.139.

HIGHWAYS
Power to repair and maintain public footpaths and bridleways. Power to light roads and public places. Power to provide parking places for vehicles, bicycles, and motorcycles. Power to enter into an agreement as to dedication and widening. Power to provide roadside seats and shelters. Power to consent to a local highway authority stopping maintenance of a highway or stopping up / diverting a highway. Power to complain to district council about the protection of rights of way and roadside waste. Power to provide certain traffic signs and other Notices. Power to plant trees, etc., and maintain roadside verges.
Statutory Provisions: Highways Act 1980, ss.43,50. Parish Councils Act 1957 s.3. Highways Act 1980, s301. Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 s.57, 63. Highways Act 1980 ss.30, 72. Parish Councils Act 1957 s.1. Highways Act 1980, ss.46, 116. Highways Act 1908, s.130. Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, s.72. Highways Act 1980, s96.

HONORARY TITLES
Power to admit to be honorary freemen/freewomen of the councils area persons of distinction and persons have, in the opinion of the authority

INVESTMENTS
Power to participate in schemes of collective investment.
Statutory Provisions: Trustee Act 1961, s.11.

LAND
Power to acquire land by agreement, to appropriate land and to dispose of land. Power to accept gifts of land.
Statutory Provisions: LGA 1972, ss.124, 126 and 127. LGA 1972, s.139.

LITTER
Power to provide litter bins in streets and public places.
Statutory Provisions: Litter Act 1983, ss.5.

LOTTERIES
Power to promote lotteries.
Statutory Provisions: Gambling Act 2005 s.252, 258.

MARKETS
Power to establish or acquire by agreement markets within the council’s area and to provide a market place and market buildings.
Statutory Provisions: Food Act 1984 s.50.

MORTUARIES AND POST-MORTEM ROOMS
Power to provide mortuaries and post-mortem rooms.
Statutory Provisions: Public Health Act 1936, s198.

NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING
Powers to act as a lead body for a neighbourhood development plan or a neighbourhood development order.
Statutory Provisions: Localism Act 2011, Schedule 9, Town and Country Planning Act 1990 ss 61E – 61Q. Schedule 4B, Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, s.38A.

NEWSLETTERS
Power to provide information relating to matters affecting local government.
Statutory Provisions: LGA 1972 s.142

NUISANCES
Power to deal with offensive ponds, ditches, and gutters.
Statutory Provisions: Public Health Act 1936, S.260.

OPEN SPACES
Power to acquire and maintain land for public recreation. Power to acquire and maintain open spaces.
Statutory Provisions: Public Health Act 1875 s.164. Open Spaces Act 1906, s9-10.

PARISH PROPERTY AND DOCUMENTS
Powers to receive and maintain. Duty to deposit certain published works in specific deposit libraries.
Statutory Provisions: Local Government Act 1972, s.226. Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003, S.1.

PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND VILLAGE HALLS
Power to acquire and provide buildings for public meetings and assemblies.
Statutory Provisions: LGA 1972, s.133.

PUBLIC CONVENIENCES
Power to provide public conveniences.
Statutory Provisions: Public Health Act 1936, s.87.

RECREATION
Power to provide a wide range of recreational facilities. Provision of boating pools.
Statutory Provisions: Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) 1976 s.19. Public Health Act 1961 s.54.

RIGHT TO CHALLENGE SERVICES PROVIDED BY A PRINCIPAL AUTHORITY
The right to submit an interest in running a service provided by a district county or unitary authority.
Statutory Provisions: Localism Act 2011, ss.81-86.

RIGHT TO NOMINATE AND BID FOR ASSETS OF COMMUNITY VALUE
The right to nominate assets to be added to a list of assets of community value and the right to bid to buy a listed asset when it comes up for sale.
Statutory Provisions: Localism Act 2011, ss.87-108.

TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING
Right to be notified of planning applications if right has been requested.
Statutory Provisions: Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Sched 1, para 8.

TOURISM
Power to contribute to the encouragement of tourism.
Statutory Provisions: LGA 1972, s.144.

TRAFFIC CALMING
Power to contribute financially to traffic calming measures.
Statutory Provisions: Local Government and Rating Act 1997, s.30.

TRANSPORT
Powers to spend money on community transport schemes.
Statutory Provisions: Local Government and Rating Act 1997, s.26-29.

WAR MEMORIALS
Power to maintain, repair, protect and adapt war memorials.
Statutory Provisions: War Memorials (Local Authorities Powers) Act 1923, s.1 as extended by LGA 1948 s.133.

WATER SUPPLY
Power to utilize any well, spring or stream for obtaining water.
Statutory Provisions: Public Health Act 1936 s.125.

WEBSITES
Power for councils to have their own websites.
Statutory Provisions: LGA 1972, s.142.