Hundreds of parish council vacancies go unfilled

Parish councillor Chas Townley said some parish council elections go uncontested

Hundreds of parish and town council vacancies in Gloucestershire are unfilled, a councillor has claimed.

Chas Townley, parish councillor for Hucclecote, has compiled a list of vacancies and believes there are 212 vacancies across 113 councils.

Parish councils are the lowest tier of local government, with responsibility for managing allotments, play areas, village halls and public toilets, among other things.

"Reinvigorating parish and town democracy needs to be a key vision of the ambitions for any new unitary councils," Mr Townley said.

Local government in Gloucestershire is soon to be reorganised, as its seven county and district councils are replaced with either one or two "super authorities".

"Parish and town councils are essential anchor institutions in communities and will become even more vital following local government reorganisation," Mr Townley said.

"It has always been a worry that contested elections are as rare as hens' teeth but this research evidences that a high level of vacancies exist throughout the county, which should be of high concern," he added.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service reports that his concerns are shared by the county officer for the Gloucestershire Association of Parish and Town Councils, Chris Haine.

"Over half of parish and town councils in Gloucestershire currently have vacancies – and that's a real concern.

"We're in a time of transformation in local government, with devolution giving more power to communities.

"There's never been a more exciting or important time to step forward. Local councils are where change starts," he said.