Town Council Role

Local council is a universal term for community, village, neighbourhood, parish and town councils. They are the first tier of local government and are statutory bodies. They serve communities and are elected by residents. They can raise their own precept (a form of council tax). There are 10,000 local councils in England and 120,000 councillors who serve on these local councils.

Marazion Town Council has eleven councillors who represent the community by engaging with:

• Cornwall Council on planning matters and applications as a statutory consultee.
• Cornwall Council Highways, Environment, Enforcement, Waste and Recycling.
• Local parliamentarians and government
•  Local Police and other agencies as necessary

Marazion Town Council provides and is responsible for:-

• Allotments
• Marazion cemetery
• Bus shelters
• Public toilets
• Play areas
• The Memorial Garden
• Arranging of and staging celebratory and of commemorative events

Powers and Authorities

A council must act within the law. It can only spend, raise or use money if it has a statutory power to do so, otherwise it acts ultra vires (beyond its powers). Town and Parish councils have a wide range of powers under different acts of Parliament. Most of these powers are discretionary, i.e. a council may do something, rather than it must do something.

There are certain obligations which by law that Town and Parish councils must fulfil. For example:

• It must hold an annual meeting;
• It must hold at least three other meetings a year;
• It must appoint such officers as it believes necessary for the proper discharge of its functions. This must include an officer responsible for the proper administration of financial affairs;
• It must make Standing Orders for the supply of goods and services to the council.

The arrangements for meetings and proceedings of local councils are set out in Part II of Schedule 12 to the Local Government Act 1972, as supplemented by any standing orders adopted by a council.

Town and Parish councils will wish to:

• Be consulted on planning applications and will need a close relationship and understanding with the planning office of their higher authority.
• Have points of contact with Cornwall Council  services, such as highways, cleansing, parks, elections etc. and to contribute to the way such services are provided.
• Work closely with the Monitoring Officer of Cornwall Council on standards matters and the members’ code of conduct.
• Be represented, collectively with other Town and Parish councils, on the Local Strategic Partnership, for example the West Penwith Community Area Partnership.
• Liaise with other stakeholders operating services within the Town council boundaries.
• Contribute to proposals which may be made to the Secretary of State under the Sustainable Communities Act 2007.

As the lowest tier of democratically elected representatives in the country, Town and Parish councils have the mandate to speak on behalf of the people they represent. It is important that Town and Parish councils learn how to do this with authority and integrity in order to have the optimum effect.

Town and Parish council also have the unfettered right to raise money by precept (a mandatory demand) on the higher authority. The precept required by a  Town or Parish council is then collected by Cornwall Council (higher tier authority) as part of the council tax levied on taxpayers in that Town or Parish.

Specific Legal Powers and Authorities.

• Powers and Authorities Marazion Town Council