Move over #Handforth, there's a new #ParishCouncil drama in the making. #democracy #localpolitics #jackieWeaver

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jul/22/locals-newbies-yorkshire-village-feud-thornton-le-dale-council?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Looking forward to attending a parish council committee tonight just as an observer, rather than either being the chair or vice-chair. Couple of items on the agenda I'm interested in - buses and separately the response after the last snow in December - so giving up a rare Monday evening off and supporting my colleagues #WestMalling #ParishCouncil

@WalkersAreWelcome @Melinda @scozmos
Absolutely correct. If you also inform your #ParishCouncil, they will amplify your comments to the local authority responsible. In Cumbria, the highways authority with responsibility for fp's and bridleways is the Countryside Access team at Cumbria County Council:

https://cumbria-chhost.onmats.com/w/webpage/highwaysenquiry?context_record_id=74325621&webpage_token=eebb13e8b7b728f9b9be87604c7876fd7ddbb986680821ae3ca909fba10cd780

@jdekstrand He needed a #TownClerk from a querulous #parishcouncil to advise him - I never organise a confidential council meeting without checking behind the curtains for curious hobbits

This closing sentence to a question about the problems with parish councils is, frankly, better than most of the stuff written about #parishcouncil s. "Overall, the challenges faced by parish councils can often stem from a lack of resources, a lack of engagement with the community, and a lack of effective leadership."

I just did my first experiment with #ChatGPT and it came up with a better description of what a #ParishCouncil does (and what a #parish is) than most journalists I've encountered....

#Railways #Policy #MultiModal #Hendy #UnionConnectivityReview Yup, my job is not all litter bins and bus shelters - today was an afternoon of trying to be polite about a report written by a railway person that has held up much needed road improvements in favour of another study of whether the money should go into rail instead... #ParishCouncil #Parish #TownClerk #BangsHeadOnDesk

#Litterbins infuriate me in a very process oriented way. They're an admission that we live in an untidy, scruffy, couldn't care less society where waste is acceptable. I run a #Parish #ParishCouncil - we provide over 175 litter bins, yet we still get complaints about litter, and requests for more bins. It's like deciding that the answer to motorists killing cyclists is to build more mortuaries. The businesses that contribute to our litter problem (e.g. #FastFood shops) contribute nothing...

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2022/11/19/requiem-for-a-tweet-is-there-a-future-for-the-academic-social-capital-held-on-the-platform/ This article about the way in which the social capital that depends on #Twitter can vanish in a moment, and what that says about the whole model of #SocialCapital is hugely relevant to lots of other fields of work right now - what is the point of, say, a #LocalAuthority, even a #ParishCouncil having followers on the bird site if they don't use the bird site any more?

#Parish #ParishCouncil Parish and town councils are the most local tier of local government in many parts of England. As a #TownClerk I'm the Chief of staff at a #TownCouncil - which is a #ParishCouncil that covers a town. Lots of urban areas don't have parish councils and traditionally the Labour Party has opposed their formation, but they're a hugely valuable contribution to local democracy.