What is a Parish Council ?
What does the Council actually do ?
Parish councils have statutory rights to undertake a wide range of activities although many choose not to exercise all of their powers. LIPC would probably be seen as a fairly active council in that it takes total financial and management responsibility for:
• Street lighting
• Playing fields & play areas (Green End, Leigh Crescent and Short Lane)
• Open spaces (including the Pond, the Greens, many verges and footpaths)
• Community Centre (with the indispensable help of a semi-independent committee)
• Village amenities (benches, bus shelters, noticeboards, public toilets, etc)
• Communications (Long Itchington Diary, etc)
In addition, LIPC is heavily involved in all of the domestic and commercial planning applications that affect the parish. It should be recognised, however, that this is only a consultative role and that all comments and/or objections must be based on planning rules rather than aesthetic judgement. It is inadmissible to say “it’s too big” or “it’s ugly” or even “we don’t want it in our village” when making comments to the District Council. This can sometimes cause great frustration, particularly when the parish council appears to condone an unpopular proposal when actually it is trying to minimise the impact of something it does not have the power to prevent.
Parish councils also act as an interface between the village and local government agencies and service providers, especially the police, highways, water, and environmental authorities.
LIPC is also consulted by many organisations concerning health, education, local government reorganisation, etc. Most of the time this involves expressing the likely views of the village but if the council feels a topic is sufficiently important, it will call a public meeting where individuals have the opportunity to give their personal responses. The various meetings held to discuss the possible development of the cement works site is a good example where many villagers were able to express their wishes and views and hopefully influence any proposals that may be made. The recent change of ownership has slowed the process but the threat of large-scale development has not gone away.
Finally, LIPC can work with and encourage other village organisations to achieve their individual objectives. LIPC is indebted to the ALIVE group for the production of the Village Design Statement which ensures that development in the village meets popularly agreed guidelines as far as possible. Similarly, after the magnificent achievement of the Play 2000 group in completing the total transformation of the play area in Green End, LIPC committed funds towards helping them with a second phase aimed at providing additional facilities for teenagers. The LILAC group has now been formed to develop a plan for the whole of the playing field and the new field adjoining it.