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A Parish for Your Area: Have Your Say on Having Your Say
November 13, 2011 6:41 PM
Originally published by Dave Hodgson - Mayor of Bedford
Originally published by Dave Hodgson - Mayor of Bedford
MAYOR DAVE HODGSON, COMMENTING ON THE REVIEW OF PARISHES-
Since I became Mayor clearly we have sought to devolve power away from Borough Hall and to local communities. Local communities know what is best for their areas. However, across most of Bedford there is no elected, formal body to which we can give away real powers and responsibilities. I want local residents across Bedford Borough to have the most say possible about what happens in their area. Parish councils can have an input on planning applications and run some local services. I want to be able to give powers away to local parish councils across the Borough, and for those parishes to have more say over services the Borough provides, such as making decisions about road and pavement work.
While the Borough Council obviously does all it can to provide the best possible services for our communities, when you are providing services across such varied neighbourhoods to a population of around 160,000, there will be unintended consequences of providing services which in some cases will inevitably be 'one-size-fits-all,' and local parishing can help to solve this. Some parishes will rightly more of some services but will need less of others. Areas across the Borough should be able to make decisions which reflect this, and the real needs of their communities.
You can support the creation of a parish council in your area by signing the online petition at www.bedfordlibdems.org
You can also find more information and a detailed consultation on the council's website at
www.bedford.gov.uk/AreYouMissingOut or request one by phone on 01234 276983
More details about the review and of the Mayor's comments can also be found by clicking here
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