22 May 2012Local people are being asked to comment on the effectiveness of their town or parish council as part of a District-wide review.
Sevenoaks District Council is looking at the role of all 30 town and parish councils in its area as part of a 'Community Governance Review'. They take place every 10 to 15 years with the last one completed in 1999.
Town and parish councils play an important role at the local level. They provide many local services, maintain local facilities and are consulted on all planning applications in their area.
Sevenoaks District Council is keen to ensure they continue to be robust, representative and able to meet the challenges ahead.
The review gives local people the opportunity to say how they should be run in the future. Proposals could include creating new parishes, merging or grouping parishes together or altering parish boundaries. Suggestions could also include changing parish names or the number of Councillors who sit on the council.
Anyone can take part and the comments will be considered by the District Council’s Electoral Arrangements Committee next spring.
The deadline for comments is 24 February 2012. To take part in the review e-mail elreg@sevenoaks.gov.uk or write to: Ian Bigwood, Electoral Services Manager, Sevenoaks District Council, Council Offices, Argyle Road, Sevenoaks TN13 1HG.
Cllr Elaine Bracken, the Council’s Cabinet member for democracy, says: "Town and parish councils are the level of government closest to the community, providing many important local services. We want to ensure they are representative of the communities they serve and continue to offer good services now and in the future."
Once Sevenoaks District Council has considered the comments, any recommendations for change would be published next April with the final recommendations published in August 2012. Any changes would take effect at the next full town and parish council elections in May 2015.
