Parish council powers and duties

Parish and town councils have a wide range of powers but very few duties.

Powers

There are statutory powers, granted by Parliament, which give parish and town councils the choice or opportunity to take action. Therefore, these powers are discretionary.

Duties

These are activities that must be carried out. Therefore, these duties are mandatory, for example, parish and town councils must appoint a chairman and a clerk.

The table below is intended as a summary of the main functions of parish and town councils. It is not intended to be a definitive list.

Function	Description
Accounts	Duty to appoint a Responsible Financial Officer to manage the council's accounts
Acceptance of office	Duty to sign declaration of acceptance of office (councillors and chairman)
Allotments	Power to provide allotments and a Duty to provide allotment gardens if demand exists
Borrowing	Power to borrow money for statutory functions
Burial grounds, cemeteries and crematoria	Power to: Acquire, provide and maintain Agree to maintain memorials and monuments Contribute to expenses of maintaining cemeteries
Bus shelters	Power to provide and maintain bus shelters
Byelaws	Power to make byelaws for public walks and pleasure grounds, cycle parks, baths and washhouses, and open spaces and burial grounds
Christmas lights	Power to provide to attract visitors
Citizens Advice Bureau	Power to support
Clocks	Power to provide public clocks
Closed churchyards	Power (and sometimes Duty) to maintain
Commons and common pastures	Powers in relation to enclosure, regulation and management, and providing common pasture
Community centres	Power to: Provide and equip community buildings Provide buildings for use of clubs having athletic, social or educational objectives
Conference facilities	Power to provide and encourage the use conference facilities
Consultation	Right to be consulted by principal councils if directed by the Secretary of State
Crime prevention	Power to spend money on various crime prevention measures
Drainage	Power to deal with ditches and ponds
Education	Right to appoint governors of primary schools
Entertainment and the arts	Provision of entertainment and support for the arts including festivals and celebrations
Environment	Power to act for the benefit of the community by tackling and promoting awareness of environmental issues
Flagpoles	Power to erect flagpoles in the highways
Highways	Power to: Maintain footpaths and bridleways Light roads and public places Provide parking places for vehicles, bicycles and motor-cycles Make a dedication agreement for a new highway or widening of an existing highway Complain to a local highway authority that a highway is unlawfully stopped up or obstructed Plant trees etc. and maintain roadside verges Prosecute for unlawful ploughing of a footpath or bridleway Provide traffic signs and other notices Contribute to the cost of traffic calming measures Right to veto application to magistrates court to stop up, divert or cease to maintain a public highway
Interests	Duty to declare an interest
Investments	Power to participate in schemes of collective investment
Land	Power to: Acquire land by agreement or compulsory purchase Appropriate land Dispose of land Accept gifts of land Obtain particulars of persons interested in land
Lighting	Power to light roads and public places
Litter bins	Power to provide litter bins in streets and public places
Lotteries	Power to promote lotteries
Meetings	Duty to: Hold an annual parish meeting (a gathering of residents, where anyone on the parish electoral register can speak and discuss parish affairs) Hold an annual parish council meeting (a meeting of elected council members where members of the public can speak only at the Chair's discretion) Power to convene a parish meeting
Newsletters	Power to provide information relating to matters affecting local government
Nuisances	Power to deal with offensive ponds, ditches and gutters
Open spaces	Power to acquire and maintain open spaces
Parking facilities	Power to provide parking places for motor vehicles and bicycles
Parks and pleasure grounds	Power to acquire land or to provide recreation grounds, public walks, pleasure grounds and open spaces and to manage and control them
Planning	Right to be notified of and power to respond to planning applications
Public buildings and village halls	Power to provide buildings for offices and for public meetings and assemblies
Public conveniences	Power to provide public conveniences
Publicity	Power to provide information about matters affecting local government
Records	Power to collect, exhibit and purchase local records
Recreation	Power to provide a wide range of recreational facilities
Seats and shelters	Power to provide roadside seats and shelters
Town status	Power to adopt town status
Tourism	Power to contribute to encouragement of tourism
Transport	Power to: Establish car-sharing schemes Make grants for bus services Provide taxi-fare concessions Investigate public transport, road use needs Provide information about public transport services
Village signs	Power to use decorative signs to inform visitors
Village greens	Power to maintain, to make bylaws for and to prosecute for interference with village greens
Village halls	(see community centres and public buildings)
War memorials	Power to maintain, repair and protect war memorials
Water supply	Power to utilise any well, spring or stream to provide facilities for obtaining water from them