Neighbourhood planning groups established under the Localism Act could be
allowed begin the process of setting up new parish councils without the need to
demonstrate local support, under government plans put out for consultation.
Under the
Localism Act, in areas where there is not a town or parish council,
neighbourhood planning can be carried out by anyone who wants to set up or join
a group which is designated as a "neighbourhood forum" by the local
principal authority.
Currently,
local authorities can decide to create new parish councils (which can then
resolve to be called town, neighbourhood, village or community councils) via a
mechanism called a "community governance review".
However, for
local residents to get the council to instigate such a review, they must obtain
the support of ten per cent of the electorate via a petition.
The Department
for Communities and Local Government consultation document says the current
process "doesn’t allow designated neighbourhood forums for neighbourhood
planning a distinct role in the process of creating a new parish council. They
have to trigger a review in the same way as any other group."
Among its
proposals, the consultation suggests that the number of signatures a petition
needs in order to trigger a community governance review could be halved, as
follows: for electorates of below 500, 25 per cent; 125 signatures for
electorates between 500 and 2,500; and 5 per cent for electorates above 2,500.
Another option proposes that a neighbourhood forum could submit an
application to trigger a community governance review, rather than having to
submit a petition with the required number of signatures.
The
consultation document says there are a number of reasons why a neighbourhood
forum should be involved in the process of creating a new parish council.
It
says: "Firstly, a designated neighbourhood forum has an open membership of
people with a genuine interest in the local community and a focus on improving
local well-being.
"Secondly, the neighbourhood planning process should
generate community interest and engagement in the idea of shaping and improving
the neighbourhood. That may mean that it can also be a good starting point for
considering the creation of a town or parish council.
"Thirdly, when that forum has had a neighbourhood plan agreed at a referendum, it has shown that it has community support in developing proposals for the future of the neighbourhood. It may therefore be appropriate to allow it to start the process of creating a parish council more easily than the current petition process allows."
"Thirdly, when that forum has had a neighbourhood plan agreed at a referendum, it has shown that it has community support in developing proposals for the future of the neighbourhood. It may therefore be appropriate to allow it to start the process of creating a parish council more easily than the current petition process allows."
Communities secretary Eric Pickles said: "Parishes
are popular with people and for too long communities have battled with
burdensome bureaucracy to get them created.
“Our proposal to remove red tape, simplify and streamline the current process to create parish councils is commonsense. We want to give local people a real sense of community control in their areas, giving them freedom to make changes and improvements which best serve their community and area."
Commenting
on the proposals Councillor Michael Chater, chair of the National Association
of Local Councils (NALC) said:
"We welcome the creation of
more new local (parish and town) councils to deliver wider services to local
communities and be the voice of local people. We agree with the proposal to
consult on how local councils could be given more power to deliver grassroots
services and looking forward to hearing of innovative and radical approaches on
how this will happen."
The
formal consultation documents can be downloaded at
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/parishdiscussionpaperThe consultation ends in early January 2013.
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