A Parish for Your Area: Have Your Say on Having Your Say

Bedford Borough Council is currently undertaking a review which I hope will ultimately put right an unequal, unfair situation in the Borough. For historical reasons local residents in some areas have had a say over local concerns through their parish council. In the Borough they have existed for the rural areas and for Kempston, but not for the other urban areas. Brickhill residents put this right in their area 7 years ago, and since then they have also had their own parish Council. I believe Parish Councils play an extremely valuable role in representing local residents and getting things done for their communities. A 'Community Governance Review' is now underway to find out what people in the 'unparished' parts of the Borough think about having a parish council for their area.

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.

Residents in parished areas pay less council tax to the borough council. For example, rural residents in the Borough pay £44 less council tax to the Borough Council than those in the unparished parts of Bedford. Those residents obviously also pay tax to the parish council for the service it provides, and the level of this payment is set by the parish according to local need.

Here are some more key facts about parish councils:

• Over half the people living in Bedford Borough already have a parish council
• Other big towns and cities have parish councils, for example Milton Keyneshas parish councils throughout.
• Parish Councillors are elected by local people.
• Parish councils can:

- Deliver many local services (like bus shelters, grass cutting, play areas, youth activities, community safety and many more)

- Run local facilities, like allotments and community centres

- Have an input into planning decisions

- Be a strong voice to speak up for the local area to other authorities and organisations

• Parish councils don't all have to take on the same responsibilities; local decisions will be taken to suit each area.
• They meet in the local area and are open to residents to attend
• Many local services from the Borough are inevitably one-size-fits-all. Parish councils have a chance to make services right for local people.

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