how town and parish councils are delivering innovation

Rory last week hosted a meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Local Democracy – of which he is the Chairman – on “How town and parish councils are delivering innovation”. He was joined by two Cumbrian representatives of the Eden Big Society vanguard, Libby Bateman of the Upper Eden Community and Barry Thompson of the Heart of Eden group, who both gave very well-received presentations to the assembled MPs on the Eden vanguard’s brilliant and innovative renewable energy, broadband and planning projects.

The meeting brought together participants from town and parish councils across England. The event was designed to give the groups the chance to showcase their work, exchange ideas, and plan for the future. The government is increasingly looking to parish and town councils to take on greater responsibilities. The Localism Bill will give local councils many new powers, including the right to take control of planning in their local area. The assembled parliamentarians heard how the work of Eden’s councils as part of the Big Society vanguard had inspired the government to act.

Rory said: “This was an important meeting that focussed on the work of town and parish councils in driving innovation in local service provision, bringing together a range of town and parish councils from around the county to explain how they have delivered innovation to serve the needs of their local communities. I was very proud to welcome some of our representatives from Eden, who discussed with members of the group how the powers that will be granted to local communities though the Localism Bill will affect the ways in which parish and town councils can meet the needs of their local area.”

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